


Brotherhood Alliance

by iKnowTheWay



Category: The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, X-Men - All Media Types
Genre: Child Neglect, F/M, Gen, Intentionally Bad Spelling & Grammar, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rogue is Brotherhood, Tags Are Hard, X-men animated cartoon Rogue, terrible summary
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-03-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 09:15:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 26,631
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13633293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iKnowTheWay/pseuds/iKnowTheWay
Summary: Rogue hates the Wagners (but not really)Rogue used to hate being a mutant (but not anymore)Rogue hates when people are in her head (she still does)





	1. Rogue One (teeheehee)

**Author's Note:**

> I imagine Rogue's voice as the 90s animated Rogue.

Rogue hates the Wagners. 

Alright, no, she doesn’t really hate them. They took in Nightcrawler when he felt she wasn’t enough of a home. _When Mama drove him off_. They took him in and treated him like their own son.

She just hates that they tryna raise him as one of their own. Teaching him things that change how he looks at the rest of them, changes how he looks at _her_. It’d be one thing if they taught him to hate his own kind. Hate other mutants. No, he just looks at her with his pity and shame filled eyes like she’s a criminal going around slaughtering innocent babies.

It wouldn’t bother Rogue, she’s convinced, if her own care for Nightcrawler and ever present moral compass had been squashed in her early years. She’d learned right from wrong as a child. Nightcrawler was learning it now as a teen.

“Would you like some tea, Rogue? Coffee?”

“No, thank you ma’am.” She scratches at the shirt. It’s clean but rarely worn. The lack of fabric softener making it itchy. The long sleeves and high collar, was the most conservative thing she could find. Pulling her long mane back into a pony was an attempt to make her look her actual tender age of 19 and not offend the Wagners’ delicate sensitivities with her usual dress.“Nigh- Kurt gonna be ‘round soon?”

“Yes,” his adopted mother says without looking at her. The woman’s in her forties, the beginning of age lines settling into her smile. Rogue glances around at the array of pictures on the wall. Yes, this woman’s had a nice comfy life. Surrounded by kids and what looks to be young grandkids. “His father likes to take him for ice cream after school on Fridays.”

His father. Rogue bites down on her rhetoric to disown the man on Nightcrawler’s behalf. Nightcrawler ain’t got a Daddy. Only Mama. And Rogue.

Mrs. Wagner’s tinkling laugh brings her out of her thoughts.

“Rogue, my girl,” Rogue can’t quite keep the look of disgust off her face, “You can relax a little. You look as tense as my eldest’s cheshire when company comes around.” Her face is as gentle as her voice. Rogue hadn’t realized how stiff she sat in the chair. She had been around the Wagners a couple times before but she could never feel comfortable in a place like this. In a _home_ like this. All it felt like was false promises of love and comfort that drained you in a fell swoop leaving you on the curb with a gun to your head. “How are things?”

“Good,” she answers quickly clearing her throat. She hates small talk. Nightcrawler knows this. Knows not to leave her alone with his parents longer than need be. And even if he had no idea she was coming today she still lays the blame at his feet. She doesn’t reciprocate the question not wanting to encourage further idle chatter.

But Mrs. Wagner looks at her like the one syllable had betrayed everything gone wrong in Rogue’s life. Her gentle smile turns sad. Her eyes crinkle a bit as her entire mood suffers the slightest shift.

“You know you’re always welcome here if anything is wrong at home-”

“Everything’s fine.” The older woman’s not convinced. 

“Your mother is doing alright?”

“Yes,” her clipped tone finally registers with Mrs. Wagner and the older woman readjusts as if to mirror her change in tactics.

“Kurt is doing well in school,” she explains pulling her phone from her pocket. “He made the Merit Roll. They had a breakfast for the honorees and their parents.” She slides the phone over the coffee table between them. Rogue begrudgingly picks it up. 

It shows Kurt, his tail curled behind him, grinning broadly as he sits between the Wagners. A plate of leftover food from the breakfast sits in front of them on the table. There’s a blue ribbon pinned to his shirt that says ‘Merit Roll Student’.

Rogue can’t help it (call her a big softie), she grins at the picture. As much as she hates how the Wagners have changed how he looks at her, she can’t help but admire how they love him. Something they all long for. She wouldn’t wish her misery on Nightcrawler even if she wishes he hadn’t left her alone in it.

Rogue sits mostly in silence as Mrs. Wagner chatters more about Nightcrawler and what he does in school. How he’s thinking about joining the golf team at his school and Rogue can’t stop the unexpected chuckle that bubbles out of her. It makes the other woman’s face practically light up in glee and Rogue wants to take the chuckle back. 

Fortunately, that’s when the front door opens.

“We’re home!” Mr. Wagner announces, his wife quick to her feet to give him a hug and peck on the lips causing Rogue to look away. 

“Rogue?”

She looks back up to see Nightcrawler standing in the doorway, looking at her like he’s seen a ghost. No matter what human friendly clothes she wears or how blue skinned he is, she’s the thing that doesn’t belong. The outsider. The past he probably wishes would stay buried.

She curses the Wagners again in her head for that look.

“Hey kiddo,” she says standing to her feet and rubbing her arm because she starts to feel the way he sees her.

“I did not know you would be coming today.” He remembers the ice cream cone in his hand when it leaks down the side of his fingers. Rogue, released from his incriminating gaze finds her voice.

“I know uh...surprise? I was hoping we could talk or somethin’.”She glances at his fosters. ”If you ain’t got homework that is-”

“It’s Friday, Kurt,” Mr. Wagner cuts in with a gentle smile. “Go hang out with your sister.” 

Nightcrawler actually pauses to consider it.

“Yes, alright.”

Once outside the house, Rogue starts to calm her tension. Though another tension rises up between the two. In an effort to break it, Rogue yanks the cone out of Nightcrawler’s hand, ignoring his startled protest and licks it. She doesn’t care for mint chocolate chip but she keeps licking it just to annoy him.

“You should have told me you were coming,” he starts giving up the fight for his ice cream. “I would have asked father if we could bring you a cone as well.”

“He’s not your father,” she bites out. 

“Azazel certainly isn’t.” She turns to him confused and shocked. “She finally told me his name after telling me how she _murdered_ him.”

Rogue had heard the name before, Azazel, one of Mystique’s old alliances. But she didn’t know much about him. 

“I did some investigation of my own. He was evil like her.” Rogue flinches. “His powers not unlike my own. My color the only thing I acquired from mother.” She doesn’t believe that for one second. She wants to tell him how he acquired her sneakiness and snark. Her dry wit and sad eyes. But she doesn’t say any of that because she knows he won’t appreciate it.

“Don’t you think ya kinda bein’ hard on her?” Is what she says instead.

Nightcrawler grabs her arm to halt their walking. His expression is not gentle.

“She _killed_ my father. She _lied_ to me. She _used_ me and tricked me into thinking that’s how mothers are supposed to love their children.” 

“She loves you, Night.” He almost hisses under his breath. “She just got a weird way of showin’ it s’all.”

“Mom and Dad take me to Mass. I learn about divine forgiveness. Of a man whom forgave the people who slaughtered him. Of a disrespectful people who ignore and spit on their God. I am not divine. I do not think I could ever forgive Mystique. Not for what she did to me. And not for what she is doing to you.” 

Rogue looks down. 

“I aint no better than her-” He tilts her chin up. He doesn’t actually touch her to do it, but he comes so close that she’s forced to look up to avoid his fingers. His eyes ain’t lookin at her like she’s a monster. He just pities her.

“You are not evil, Rogue,” he says gentle like a Mama cooing at her babe, “Just led astray.”

For a moment, she wants to believe him. That that’s all that’s wrong with her. She’s just a little lost and confused and walkin’ the wrong path...

But the moment’s gone as quick as it comes so she pulls out of his invisible grasp.

“‘Nuff of that softy mess. I ain’t no damsel.” Night grins at her as she huffs before shoving the last of his cone into her mouth. “Guess with those Wagners turning your brain to mud I can’t ask you what I came here to ask.”

Nightcrawler visibly tenses. Wary.

“I will not jeopardize my place with my parents nor betray their trust to help Mystique.”

She expected as such. But it hurt to hear the resolve in his voice that hadn’t been there before. Before, all it took were a few puppy dog eyes and well placed pleads from her to pull Night from the straight and narrow. The Wagners called it “back sliding”. She just called it “waking him up”. 

Of course she’d been away too long this stretch, and they’d managed to dig in and anchor their ideologies in his mind and heart.

But they needed him on this mission. Rogue had tried talking Mama out of it but the stubborn woman wouldn’t listen. She was going through with the plan even if the odds were stacked against her. Against all of ‘em. And the rest of the Brotherhood hadn’t been quiet about their misgivings.

Of course that picture of Night smiling at his merit roll breakfast comes unbidden to her mind.

“I don’t want you ta get kicked out ya house, Suga.” She doesn’t want him sad. She supposes it’s the downside of caring about somebody inside a crime ring. You’re loyal to them. But you start to care about their actual happiness too. “Just forget I said anything.”

Nightcrawler doesn’t let the subject drop though.

“You are worried” he notes. “If you do not want to do what Mystique asks you can walk away.”

“No, I can’t! You know I can’t! I ain’t very well leavin’ her to do the mission on her own and get herself killed!”

Nightcrawler visibly flinches. As much as he was bad mouthing her, she knows some part of him still cares for his biological mother. If he didn’t he wouldn’t be so bothered by the prospect of her death.

“Mystique is clever. She will not pursue a fruitless effort-”

“For this one she will. She ain’t clear headed. She angry and she want vengeance.”

“There is nothing material worth her life-”

“Destiny’s dead.” He hadn’t known. It’d been months. She didn’t tell him. And it hung like a cloud over the whole Brotherhood. “We got into a fight with the Avengers. We got away but Mama couldn’t find her.” Rogue still couldn’t shake that immediate chaos and fear that had enveloped them when Destiny wasn’t where they’d left her. “Avengers took her to a hospital. She died there.”

He wraps his arms around as if to hug himself. Of all of them Destiny had been the oddity. The morality of the group. And the one everyone could call a friend. Mystique leaned on her advice and guidance the most. She’d been the unofficial second in command. 

“She was mother’s only friend,” he mutters forlornly. In a moment he shakes his head as if to escape the haze of sorrow. “No matter her grief, attacking the Avengers is suicide. They outnumber us and they are tactically more advanced.”

“Us?”

“The Brotherhood I mean,” He grabs her arm again. She manages not to flinch. “Rogue, I beg of you, do not do this for her. You could be harmed or worse.”

“I’m tough, Night.”

“You wanted me to join you. Why?”

Part of her wonders if his presence could talk her out of it. The other part…

“Escape plan,” she says easily. “In case things go too far south.” Because she knows they’re going south she just doesn’t want it to go ‘end of the Brotherhood’ south. Night doesn’t want to lose the Wagners just as much as she doesn’t want to lose the Brotherhood. “I’ll think of somethin’ else.”

“Why don’t you just... borrow my powers for a short while?” It’s tempting but she hates hurting people she cares about like that. And to hold it that long would mean near killing him. “You do not need _me_ , just my ability.”

“I ain’t hurtin' you Night.”

“Even if it means your life?”

“Especially,” she says only realizing then how true it was. “You’re too important to me! I ain’t hurtin’ you. This is my problem I’ll figure out another way.”

“It is not your problem. It is Mystique’s and she is dragging you into it!”

“Destiny was in the Brotherhood. I’m in the Brotherhood. And one of the Avengers killed her. The Brotherhood the only family I got that’s worth somethin’. I may not agree with how Mama’s goin’ about it but I ain’t restin’ til somebody pay for what they did to my family!”

The sad look in his eyes return but he doesn’t fight her on it anymore. Even though she hasn’t seen him in nearly a year, Rogue doesn’t feel much to hanging out. She came with a purpose and it’s clear she won’t wear him down this time. It stings her in a way wondering if she’s lost him to the Wagners for good. 

They walk back to his house in silence until they get to the front porch.

“Why yo folks so nice to me anyway?” They couldn’t be dumb. Every time Night fell off the wagon it was right after she showed up. They knew she regarded Night’s mom as her mom so they always thought of her as his sister. She was sure such goody two shoes parents wouldn’t like the ‘dealer’ hanging around their ‘rehabbing’ son.

“Because you are important to me,” he says casually. “I care for you so they do as well.”

She snorts.

“I ain’t drinkin the suburban kool aid they servin’ you here.” Nightcrawler smirks.

“If they could, they would adopt you as well.”

Nightcrawler keeps walking towards his door but Rogue freezes. She’s not a kid anymore. She’s nineteen and got four years more of hardship than Nightcrawler. Plus she hates and respects the Wagners for what they did to him.

“I’m a woman, Night.” Impossibly he looks even sadder.

“I know.” The door opens before he can turn the knob. It’s Mr. Wagner. Rogue wonders if he was standing by the door the whole time trying to watch through the peephole.

“Kids back already?” he asks smiling and opening the door wider. “Rogue, we insist you stay for dinner.”

“I-”

“She can not tonight, father.” Night saves her. A rebellious part of her wants to agree to stay just because but she knows she can’t. He knows it too. “It was just a quick visit.”

“I’ve got to head back,” she adds in. Her left arm going to rub the right. She’s uncomfortable again. No matter what Night had admitted, she still feels like they’re judging her every move. She hates that it bothers her so. Mystique had taught her better than this. Be proud of who she is. Of what she is. Of what she can do. Relish in the fear she can bring to people. Celebrate her own superiority. “I’ll see ya, Nigh- _Kurt_. Bye Mr. Wagner.”

She turns to leave. Taking the steps off the porch quickly. Each one distancing her from the house and enabling her to breathe easier.

“Rogue wait!”

She turns around but doesn’t walk back to the house. Mrs. Wagner comes walking after her with a foil covered plate. Her husband and Nightcrawler stand watching.

“If you won’t stay, at least take a plate home.”

“I don’t need charity, Mrs. Wagner.”

“It’s not charity,” she tsks. “I was raised with manners and that includes not allowing guests to leave empty handed.” She hands the plate over and Rogue takes it. “Besides if you don’t like it, at least I won’t have to watch you try to lie to my face about it.”

Rogue tries to hide the smile that creeps up onto her face by looking down at her shoes.

“Thank you ma’am.”

Later when she’s back at the base, Rogue hides in her room from prying eyes to eat the food in private. She hates that she savors every bite.


	2. Rogue Two

She throws her pony back over her shoulder, the sweat on her scalp, weighing it down. Blob serves as a good punching bag but he generates more heat than a furnace. That combined with Rogue’s relentlessness all morning, and Blob’s endless stream of farts, she’s sure she smells like a boys locker room.

Blob lets loose another one.

“Oy Rogue, you got me right in the intestines.”

“You do that on purpose doncha?” she snarls with less bite than usual. “Start eatin’ when I need to train just so I gotta smell that mess the whole dang time.” He just laughs that long bellowing laugh at her scrunched up nose. 

“He does that with everybody.” She stops mid punch but doesn’t turn around to face Mystique. By her tone she can tell her Mama’s disappointed. “You did not return with him.”

Rogue punches with the other arm. She’s not surprised Mystique knew where she went and why.

“He ain’t wanna come back, Mama.” She kicks with a grunt ignoring how Mystique slinks further into the room. 

“Unfortunate,” she says simply in that stoic way of hers pretending to not hear the double loaded words in Rogue’s tone. “But we do not need him to complete the task.”

“He offered me his powers,” she says hesitantly.

“You did not take them.” It’s not a question. It’s criticism. She doesn’t want to say what she said to Nightcrawler. Mama would think her weak. “Your attachment to him will only get in the way of your growth.”

At that she whirls around.

“My _attachment_?” Her voice is pitched but she doesn’t care. “He’s _your_ son!”

“A title he has repeatedly reminded me he does not desire.”

“You could try bein’ a little nicer to him,” she argues. “He told me about Azazel.”

Rogue doesn’t expect that magnitude of reaction in Mama’s face. The shock is followed by a sadness that morphs into anger before she’s indifferent again. 

“And what did he tell you? What he heard or the truth?” Rogue doesn’t answer at first. “If he places that demon on any type of pedestal it is because he is dead and I am not. It is much easier to place the blame at the feet of the living than the dead.”

“How can he blame his Daddy?” Rogue challenges incredulous. “You killed him!”

“And if I hadn’t he would have killed Nightcrawler!” The shock of the moment is ruined when Blob farts again. It’s quiet as if he tried to hold in his gas but didn’t succeed. “Out.”

He obeys her without protest. Rogue is still staring at her as they wait for the door to slam shut signalling Blob’s exit.

“Did you tell him that?”

“You do not have a child, Rogue, so you do not know how it pains you to hurt them.” Rogue only flinches at the reminder of her inability to sustain human contact. “It crushed him to know his father died at my hands. How much moreso do you think had I told him his father wanted him dead?”

Rogue’s frustrated. It’s moments and truths like these, brief moments of vulnerability that Rogue alone sees. Maybe Destiny had too but she always shielded Night from them. Always made him think her little more than a blue stone faced robot.

“Did you love him?” Rogue fears the answer. She’s not even sure how Mystique could stomach some child murdering creature long enough to procreate with him.

“I…” she hesitates and looks away. “It hardly matters now. I have business in town.” Quickly Mystique morphs into some nameless brunette. Her white dress changing into a business suit. “I’ll return tonight, no later than tomorrow afternoon. We’ll discuss the mission details then.”

She walks out and Rogue rolls her eyes. Wanting to punch something she yells in frustration remembering Blob was sent away.  


* * *

“I’m hurt, truly,” Toad lauds when she pushes him away with a quick burst of wind. It only makes him stumble instead of fall meaning she’s at the tail end of her latest acquisition’s powers. “I’m as glorious as any level 3 mutant.”

“You eat bugs and you hop a lot,” she retorts. “I’d hardly call that exceptional. My old retriever could probably outdo ya.”

He huffs insulted. Rogue can’t deal with masochistic types like him. She’s met a few that come and go through the Brotherhood. Feel insulted somehow if she doesn’t ask to borrow their powers. Nevermind the excruciating pain on their part and the mental excruciation on hers. She’d borrowed from Blob once and had been torn between vomiting and wanting to kill herself.

“What’s all the fuss in here?” Pyro’s interruption is welcome. Rogue had a hard time trusting Toad. The others were fine with him having worked with him when Magneto still controlled the Brotherhood. But she didn’t like how he seemed to just scurry from whatever hole he was hiding in all these years. His team got obliterated, his leader nearly killed, and now she was forced to think he would be loyal to them.

“Your girlfriend’s being a prude,” Toad exclaims hopping out of the room to dodge the blast of power she sent at him again.

“Powers draining?” She only nods at Pyro’s question ignoring Toad’s ‘girlfriend’ comment. He joins her on the couch. “Should’ve kept the refill cells.”

Rogue squirms a little in her seat. 

“You know I hated that.”

Pyro shrugs.

“Mystique’s moving forward with this bloody mission and somewhere in there you’re going to have to find somebody to drain. The cells were convenient, Lass.”

“Keepin’ mutants locked up in cells just for me to hurt ‘em ain’t humane.” Again Pyro gives an infuriating shrug. “This is all well and easy for you ain’t it, Pyro? You ain’t the one zapping people ‘til they near dead.”

“No, because I control fire. We all got jobs here. Using our powers. Your power is to take everyone elses. If you can’t do that, what good are you?”

It hurts like a slap. She can’t help it that no matter how many talks Mystique gives it doesn’t wipe the memory of Cody lying comatose in her arms that she has every single time she touches someone. 

But this was the only family she got. She had to do her job and help them.

 _You don’t need me, just my ability._

Night’s words haunt her. She’d thought him delusional. Of course they needed him too. The way they needed Destiny but would never have her again. It was more than just about their power wasn’t it?

But she wonders if maybe Night was right and she was the one delusional.

She curses the Wagners out loud drawing a confused glance from Pyro but she can’t stand his presence anymore either so she leaves.

* * *

“A plane landed just east of the city. Even now it’s cloaked and undetected by radar.”

“X-men?” Pyro asks. Because cloaked planes were always the X-jet. 

“No,” Mystique pulls out a few grainy photos. “Avengers. I don’t know their business exactly but they’ve been in the area for a few days.”

Rogue picks through the photos. They’re in civvies but their faces are recognizable enough. She sees Black Widow. Hawkeye. 

“Scarlet Witch.” Toad’s holding a photo. The team looks at him but he’s still staring down at it.

“You’re most familiar with her powers,” Mystique says after a moment where he doesn’t elaborate.

“Her brother won’t be far,” Toad replies in a non-answer.

“I didn’t pick him up on any images.”

“Not surprising.” He drops the photo back onto the table. “Quicksilver’s loyal to a fault when it comes to his sister. If the Avengers are here on a mission he’s not letting her be the only super powered one of the bunch.”

Mystique looks to Rogue.

“You’ll need to find someone fast enough to outrun him or someone that can slow him down.”

Rogue nods picking up the photo of Scarlet Witch. The girl is young. She hasn’t had to fight her personally yet but she gathers the woman has odd powers. 

“How fast is he?” She asks to Toad.

“Fast,” is all he says with a shrug which makes Rogue want to strangle him. The mission’s already a crapshoot, and his non compliance aint helpin’ none.

“Erik’s spawns have a flare for the dramatic,” Mystique warns with an edge to her voice Rogue commits to inquire about later. “Do not get distracted by them.” The whole team nods but she keeps her eyes on Rogue.

Personally, Rogue doesn’t think she’s the one Mama needs to be concerned about.  


* * *

Mama had trained her how to find a new identity. She took on the person’s looks. But Rogue took their powers and small portions of their mind. She had to find drifters and loners that could still be of use. Pyro was right, the cells were convenient.

But they made her feel like the scum of the Earth.

She had never been on the receiving end of Mystique’s wrath as much as she had been when she’d let all their prisoners go while the rest of the Brotherhood was out on a mission. Nightcrawler had helped her. And he’d got more than an earful and gave some.

It’d been the flame that sparked him running from them in the first place. She wonders if Mama partially blames her for his leaving.

“Hey Joe,” she hears and turns to see the newcomer at the other end of the bar. She’d barely borrowed Mama’s powers, just enough to change her hair and eyes for a couple hours. “Can I get a scotch?”

“On the rocks? Cooler’s busted.”

“I’ll manage.” He’s dirty blonde with sad eyes. He looks young but she’s not sure. He’s a pretty boy to her she figures which is why he catches her eyes. The bartender brings his drink back. “Thanks.”

When Joe walks away she notices how blondie looks around carefully. She turns her head away though keeps an eye on him through her periphery. Satisfied no one’s looking at him she sees the slight rise of chill from his glass. His finger is touching it. When he pulls his hand away she sees condensation from frost.

She slinks off her stool and sits next to him after he starts to drink.

“Evenin’ handsome,” she drawls setting her cup down. He’s startled a bit by her sudden presence but calms when she flashes a flirtatious smile. His grin is only slight.

“Evening,” he looks her up and down. “Miss.”

“Marie.” She doesn’t bother disguising her voice. She just perks it up a bit and hope he’ll pass her off as some bimbo.

“Marie,” he holds out a hand and she almost laughs. “Bobby.” She grasps his hand with her gloved one but doesn’t shake it. Choosing instead to run her thumb over his knuckles bringing his gaze from her eyes to their fingers. “Can I get you a drink?”

“Already got a drink, Suga.” She tips up her glass.

“Could I get you your next one?”

“Tryna get a sweet girl drunk, Bobby?” He smiles laughing a bit under his breath. She’s sure he’s not a green boy, just probably used to chasing instead of being chased. “That’s alright. I ain’t _that_ sweet a girl anyhow.”

“You look sweet to me,” he says and then cringes as if he’s embarrassed he’d said the words. She laughs anyway to put him at ease. “I’ve never seen you in here before.”

“I’m just passing through,” she says turning to face the forward. “Though seeing you here makes me wish I was stayin’ longer.”

Flirting with Bobby is easy and his own charm becomes more apparent the more drinks he puts away. He suffers through them warm though. She’s keeping an ever watchful eye on his finger. She’s actually impressed how even intoxicated he’s still keen on keeping his ability a secret. But she needs to know the extent of it. She’d picked this place because it’d been on a list of on the low mutant friendly/mutant neutral establishments.

“It’s getting muggy in here,” she says suddenly interrupting him mid sentence. “You got a car out back?”

“Yeah, sure,” he says eyes alight in hopefulness. She leans on him making herself seem more inebriated than she truly is. She glances around making sure no one else is in the parking lot. His car isn’t some broke down humpty so she knows he’s suburban. Probably some spoiled rich kid whose parents love him despite his _condition_. “You want to listen to some music?” Maybe they don’t even know, the fools.

He reaches for his stereo. It’s slow rock that comes through the speakers. 

“This’ll do,” she slurs hooding her eyes to make her intention known. “Warm night.” His already alcohol flushed cheeks flare a little redder.

“A/C’s broken,” he mumbles. “I can roll down the wind-” he stops when she grabs his shoulder.

“I was thinking something a little...cooler.” He looks confused and worried for a moment. “You don’t hafta hide from me, Bobby.”

“I-I don’t…”

“I bet your hands are magical,” she says grasping the one closest to her, and leaning close to his ear. “On hot nights.”

He shivers from her breath on his neck and hesitates more but she knows how effective her sweet looks can work on charmed men. Slowly he raises his left hand and swallows. With a touch to the window, the car is covered in a light frost. Her eyes go wide in surprise. It encourages him. He makes what almost feels like snowflakes flutter through the car. She catches one gently putting it on her tongue causing him to laugh. 

“That’s so magnificent, Bobby,” her voice goes more into childlike wonder, genuinely impressed. “Can you do anything else?”

He opens a water bottle in his car and pours it slowly into his palms. She watches his fingers work over the water, freezing it into solid ice. When his fingers stop working, it’s in the shape of a rose.

“For you my lady,” he hands it to her. For a moment she forgets she’s on a mission. That Bobby actually cares for her and is giving her a gift. She remembers Cody giving her a birthday gift, a tiny necklace the morning where she later thanked him by giving him the kiss of death. She remembers Night giving her a card one year on her birthday before he ran away.

“Thank you,” she says sincerely, half regretting what she’s going to do already. But she knows she can’t back out now. He’s exactly what she needs. “I’d like to thank you properly.”

Before he can say anything, she leans over pushing him against the back of his seat. She’s able to straddle him even with the steering wheel. His mouth opens slightly when she converges.

At first it’s sweet. It’s nice. It’s a moment and a half where she’s just a girl kissing a boy.

Then she feels the way his body tenses. He’s confused and in pain and doesn’t know why. She does though. She’s relentless kissing into and around his mouth, sucking his tongue into her heat as she drains him. As his body spasms she can feel the chill of his powers enter her veins.

He’s grasping at her but his motor skills fail him, hand twitching as he tries to gasp for air. His lips aren’t moving against hers, not really, but he can’t really get her away.

She pulls back and his eyes flicker around in panic. He starts to reach for something but she licks her lips before head butting him and knocking him out cold. 

She’ll only have the powers a couple days. But she held on longer to get surface knowledge of how to actually use his basic powers.

She crawls back to the passenger side of the car, careful not to break the ice rose. It’s hot enough outside that the frost is already starting to melt. She looks at him unconscious and his face is neutral; the effects of his life force draining away as his body recuperates. She runs a hand through his hair. 

He’s a sweet boy. Somewhere she hopes he’ll forgive her. 

“Thank you for the gifts, Bobby.” She exits the car making sure to lock the doors. She can’t have him getting mugged on top of getting bamboozled by a lady.

When she gets back to the base, Pyro’s still awake watching TV.

“You find a target, Lass?” He’s smirking because he seems to know when she succeeds and when she doesn’t. She smirks back despite how dirty she feels.

“Yep,” she says grabbing the remote from him and switching the channel. “Didn’t even have to take off my gloves.” She feels him look at her when she joins him on the ratty couch.

“I’m torn between asking for more details,” his arm comes to rest behind her shoulders, “or leaving it to my imagination about how you pulled that off.”

She gives him a quick smack upside the head in answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted: 2/11/18


	3. Rogue Three

She only has the next day to get used to using Bobby’s powers. And she’ll need to be able to use it on the fly. She can’t very well bring gallons of water with her on the mission. The frustrating part is that she knows his powers can do more but she didn’t pull everything from his psyche to understand it. 

She tried replicating the rose he’d made but her best attempt had come out looking like a malformed rock. He had a control, a finesse that comes from years of practicing. Something she’d only seen in Mama and Destiny. Sometimes even Pyro showed a proficiency with his fire.

She only acquired powers temporarily. Enough time to get the gist and not really do much with them before they dwindled.

When she gets the hang of icing over objects she about screams for joy.

“They’ll be leaving tomorrow,” Mystique tells them all that evening. “That’s when we strike.”

Arriving at the air strip is easy enough. Entering the cloaked jet is another story. The confrontation catches both groups off guard. Blob is still trying to bust his way into the invisible plane when Mystique’s warning to duck comes just as an arrow shoots by to nearly blow them all up.

“I’ve got that bloody archer,” Pyro growls before taking off for Hawkeye. The telltale sounds of a suppressed gun clicking spurns Mystique into action. Blob and Toad run off to hunt down Scarlet Witch. 

Leaving Rogue to try and find Quicksilver.

“Come out come out wherever you are, Suga...” she coaxes careful not to use Bobby’s powers just yet. She wants the element of surprise if she has to slow him down. Of course she’s surprised when a fist comes from around a corner of cargo crates knocking her flat onto her back.

The hit was hard enough that her vision blurs for a bit.

When she rolls to the side she sees feet running. But it’s not fast enough to be Quicksilver. She sees the black and gold stiletto boots running away from her and the blonde mane flying behind.  
She shoots out her hands causing a wall of ice to intercept the woman who just barrels through it as if it weren’t there. Her grunt of effort is swallowed up by the sound of shattering ice.

Rogue then realizes who she is.

“Get back here, Marvel tramp!” She yells. This was the woman who’d found Destiny and fought her. Destiny was dead from the injuries this woman-this so called Avenger inflicted. Marvel turns and shoots a blast of energy at her that Rogue barely dodges. 

The cloaking drops revealing the plane and the back opens up letting Marvel run inside. Seeing the ramp start to close behind the woman, Rogue shoots a sheet of ice at the ground of her own feet.

“Oh no you don’t!” She slides up and over the ramp, rolling into the back of the plane just in time. There’s a hiss of pressure as the ramp closes sealing the two of them inside.

“ _Captain! Take off without us!_ ” She hears crackle over a radio at the plane’s cockpit. Rogue watches silently as the woman settles into the pilot seat, flicking switches and starting up the plane.

“You’re already outnumbered-”

“ _Go! We’ll be fine!_ ” She figures the voice is Black Widow on the other end. Marvel doesn’t know she’s in the plane as she tip toes forward.

“There’s a girl with ice powers-” she’s cut off when Rogue punches her in the side of the head. And goes to reach for her shoulder to pull her back.

“You were talkin’ about me, Darlin’?” she asks but the woman is strong enough to elbow her before Rogue can fully pull her out of the seat. It knocks the wind out of her giving Marvel enough time to start the plane moving. Rogue grabs for her hair but the woman is undeterred, using her foot to tip the plane up into ascent. Rogue loses her footing and tumbles to the back of the plane. 

“I’ll circle back around for you, Widow!” She says. Rogue struggles to stand once the plane levels out. Marvel presses some controls before getting from the cockpit. “Now, you want to fight?”

Rogue sees red.

Charging for her she knows it’s a dumb move and Marvel is ready for it. Landing a punch on her to knock her to the side. Rogue closes a fist and forms ice around it before swinging it up into Marvel. It does more damage than a normal fist but Marvel takes it. The woman is strong. 

“I’m gonna make you bleed you over-powered-” Rogue’s shut up by a knee to the gut. Followed by a jab to the face but she recovers quickly forming knives of ice and cutting at Marvel’s uniform. Marvel sends a short blast obliterating the ice knives. Before she can react though, Rogue gives a side kick to knock the woman off her feet.

“ _Rogue!_ ”

Hearing her Mama’s voice come across the radio distracts her long enough for Marvel to pull her down to the floor. They wrestle, with Rogue careful to not let Marvel get her thunder thighs around her. She and Widow have similar close combat fighting styles. And she is not letting this woman get the best of her.

There are three quick jabs to her ribs that have Rogue gasping for breath. She hates this woman ten times more.

“Give it up, kid!” Marvel screams at her when Rogue swings and misses. “You’re outmatched and outmaneuvered!”

“You wanna bet!” She yells before throwing herself at the woman. Rogue feels herself being thrown through the air the next moment. A pain shoots from her ribs when she hits the side of the plane.

It’s intense and she can hardly breathe. Marvel looks at her for a few moments to make sure she stays down before brushing herself off. She pulls a pair of handcuffs out and cuffs one of Rogue’s arms to the leg of a nearby chair.

Rogue watches as she walks out of view towards the cockpit.

“ _Rogue, answer me!_ ”

“She’s indisposed at the moment,” Marvel answers none too sweetly. “Where’s Widow?”

“Indisposed,” Mama parrots and Rogue almost wants to laugh. “Return my daughter to me.”

“Give me my team,” Marvel demands. Mama remains silent. “We’ve been here before, Mystique. And your team lost. As they will once again. You’ll get your daughter back when I get my team back safe and sound.”

Rogue knows Mystique’s not agreeing to that deal. She’s had her breather. She forms ice around the cuff chain to break them. Marvel doesn’t seem to have heard. As silent as she can she tiptoes toward the cockpit ignoring the aggravation in her ribs. She’s running on rage. She’ll deal with the pain later.

The woman killed Destiny. And broke her ribs.

Rogue’s done playing nice. At the last moment Marvel notices her presence.

“Wha-” But Rogue is fast. Her hands go around Marvel’s exposed face. That usually blessed moment of contact is unwelcome. Rogue relishes in the screams that follow.

“ _Rogue!_ ” Mystique’s voice carries through.

“I got her, Mama!” she yells back breathless. Marvel’s movements are erratic now. She reaches for something on the control panel but Rogue punches at her hand feeling the strength pass into her. She misses, her fist going straight through the console.

The plane pitches forward as Marvel panics between reaching for the wheel and getting Rogue’s hands off of her. Rogue doesn’t let go though. She feels something foreign seep into her but she doesn’t stop.

“ _Don’t let go, Rogue!_ ” Mama yells. Rogue wants to now though. Because the powers are starting to fade into life force. Marvel is kicking and screaming but she’s too weak to do much else now. And she can see things, feel things. Even as Marvel panics to save her life, Rogue feels the panic too. “ _Hold on!_ ”

“Mama!” she cries out because she can see memories. Feel the memories. There’s a man who’s not a man. He’s blue and smiling at her and he reaches for her.

She feels the tears slinking down her face but she doesn’t care. And she can’t let go.

She sees the Avengers, she sees S.W.O.R.D. She sees her parents- Marvel’s parents- Carol’s parents. Mom and Dad hugging her. Loving her. Kissing her goodbye on her sweet head.

Rogue’s shaking even though Marvel is barely holding onto her now. The force drifting into her slows and she panics feeling a darkened void approaching. Marvel slumps over the wheel. The plane is starting to nose dive.

From Marvel’s memories she realizes she’s broken the auto-pilot when she smashed her fist through the console but she can’t control the thoughts enough to figure out how to fly the plane herself.

They’re going to crash.

She runs to the side and punches at the wall of the plane but it’s tough material and each punch feels like she’s broken another rib.

She pulls back more than winded. If she could just break out. Marvel can fly. So she can too.

How does she fly?

She pulls back after another barrage of hits prove fruitless. She’s too panicked to think straight and figure out how to fly or use Marvel’s blasts.

She looks at the back ramp.

“Idiot!” She smacks her head. Running to the back she sees a latch to open the door. She looks forward again and sees Marvel’s body still slumped.

She should leave her. That woman killed Destiny.

_And you nearly killed her._

She growls in frustration, running back to the cockpit and lifting Marvel’s body. She stumbles a bit as she tries to half run up the aisle and half climb using the seats to the back again. It would be effortless if her ribs weren’t broken. She wheezes a bit before punching the latch. The ramp swings open and the air pressure pulls her out into the sky before she has a chance to brace herself.

For a moment it feels like she’s flying.

But then she’s scared because Marvel’s flying abilities aren’t coming to her. She’s still holding to the unconscious woman as the plane falls faster than them down to the earth. 

“Carol!” she screams uselessly wishing the woman would wake up so she could ask but there’s no response. 

Looking down she realizes with a fright she’s going to die. She’s going to avenge Destiny but she’s going to die in the process.

“Mama!” she yells out like a child because she doesn’t know what to do. She’s falling and every jerk of her leg or movement of her arm doesn’t slow the rapid descent. She can’t even focus enough to try anything with Bobby’s powers as she starts to spin out of control.

Suddenly there are arms around her. Then the wind stops. She opens her eyes and she’s on the ground. Her arms wrapped around Marvel. And blue arms wrapped around her.

She turns wide eyed to see her savior.

“Oh Night!” she gasps going for a hug then remembering her naked hands. He awkwardly hugs her middle.

“You….that was a stupid thing you did!” He berates her just at the sound of the plane’s explosion in the distance. “You could have died if I did not show up.”

“I know I know.” She closes her eyes feeling fresh tears coat her cheeks. She’d been in plenty of fights that had been dangerous but never had she felt as hopeless and convinced she was going to die as she had just moments before. She hadn’t felt that scared since her Daddy had put a gun to her head and forced her to leave home. When she pulls from Night and opens her eyes she sees where his eyes have strayed to the woman in her arms.

“Is that…?”

“Captain Marvel,” Rogue hisses out but one of the woman’s memories resurface in her mind and it partially cuts the bite out of her tone. “She killed Destiny.” It’s as much to inform him as it is to remind herself.

His eyes widen momentarily in shock.

“Is she….did you…?”

Rogue can feel her breathing but the breaths are slow and shallow. 

“She still breathin’,” Rogue admits though she’s unsure if she’s happy about it or not. “I took her powers.” _And more_ she leaves out. She’d never held onto someone that long. Not even Cody.

“Why?”

Rogue only shrugs.

“Mama said so.” It’s the wrong thing to say because his expression darkens. Truth is she feels more than uneasy about it. Marvel is rolling around in her head as a jumbled mess. And it’s taking every last ounce of energy to keep herself as Rogue and not a snivelling fool on the ground.

They hear the pounding footsteps before the voice.

“Rogue!” It’s Mama but Rogue feels a surge of anger seeing the woman running to her looking concerned. 

“You put her in danger!” Nighcrawler steps in front of her yelling at his mother. Mystique rears back before putting the indifferent mask in place. “Rogue could have died by your order.”

“Marvel deserved this and more,” Mystique snaps back at her son. “Claiming to protect the innocent. Irene was not a fighter and she engaged her anyway-”

“That is not enough of a reason to risk Rogue-”

“She can fly!” Mystique yells. “And she has super strength! Rogue could have-”

“That is not how it works!” Night argues back, his voice cracking a little. “Rogue needs time to understand how to use another’s-”

“Stop!” She yells irritated with the pair screaming over each other. “Can we not do this right now? I’m fine. And she ain’t dead.” Rogue adjusts Marvel by putting her over her shoulder. 

Nightcrawler looks to protest but Mystique beats him to it.

“We must rejoin the others.” She glances at Nightcrawler. “The rest of the Avengers have been subdued.”

“I must leave.” Mystique doesn’t hear or pretends not to as she continues walking away. Rogue turns to look at him. She understands. He didn’t want to be implicated in a plot against the Avengers. He didn’t want to do anything to risk his being with the Wagners. 

But he also couldn’t sit by and let her die either.

“Thank you, Night.”

His previous angered look softens.

“Never thank me for that. I will always save my sister.”

She smiles sadly. He poofs away before she can even say goodbye.

Returning she sees that the Avengers are in fact subdued. Black Widow and Hawkeye are on their knees with hands bound behind them courtesy of Toad’s spit. Scarlet Witch looks unconscious in Blob’s arms.

She doesn’t see Quicksilver anywhere so she assumes he never showed on this mission.

Pyro whistles when he sees her, loud enough for her to hear it over the sirens in the distance.

“Nice catch, lass!”

“You doin’ anything useful Pyro or just standin’ around lookin’ pretty?” The other guys laugh at his expense. 

“What did you do to her?” Widow demands when Rogue gets close enough. Rogue finally puts the woman down onto the ground. She wasn’t heavy but her ribs are screaming at her now that the adrenaline is starting to wane.

“She’s fine.”

“She’s not,” Hawkeye adds. “She’s too strong to just be knocked out. And no offense but you look a little too green to be able to do it.” Rogue does take offense.

“She needs a doctor,” Widow insists to Mystique before Rogue can argue with the archer. “I’ll do whatever you want. Just let Hawkeye get her to one of ours.”

“Why do you think you can bargain with me?” Mystique asks with a falsely pleasant voice. “I have four Avengers in my capture.”

“Which means four times the vengeance from the rest of the team. You don’t have the manpower to fight that. This doesn’t have to end in bloodshed. Let them go.”

Mystique seems to consider it. Rogue figured Mama wanted Marvel dead. But now she seems satisfied for the woman to have suffered Rogue’s prowess.

“Fine,” she agrees much to the rest of the team’s surprise. “Your Hawk may take her. Only him. I have a special place for you and Magneto’s spawn.”

“I’ll be keeping this,” Pyro taunts Hawkeye as he snatches the bow off his back. He then burns Toad’s gunk off the archer’s bound hands. Rogue watches as he flexes his fingers before shooting a look to Black Widow. She shakes her head to a silent question. He jogs in front of Rogue before leaning down and picking up Marvel with a bit of effort. He doesn’t run off immediately, looking at her, studying her for a brief moment before frowning. He walks away from them.

“You really lettin’ him get away with that,” Pyro asks. “With her?” Mystique has double crossed people before. Sent Pyro or Avalanche to finish a job when they thought they were safe.

“He’s leaving,” Mystique said. “But this fight will never leave him.” She turns to glare at Black Widow. “Any of them.”

“Captain Marvel didn’t kill your henchwoman.”

Mystique loses her cool once more.

“Your _captain_ fought an unarmed woman. The injuries she sustained from that beating killed her.”

“No, they didn’t,” Rogue surprises herself at her own voice. The line of thinking flowing through her are strong but they aren’t hers. “They shouldn’t have. I only hurt her enough to slow her down not to kill her.”

“Rogue-?”

“I know my own strength. I had control. She shouldn’t have died.”

Rogue shakes her head clearing the blurry images from Carol’s memories. Everyone’s looking at her oddly. Mama looks concerned. Black Widow looks intrigued.

“Mama, I-” the image of Destiny bruised and lifeless in a hospital bed rears up and she feels sick. “I can’t get her outta my head-” she grabs at her hair, the sheer amount of emotion overwhelming her and making her nauseous. Guilt is too heavy. Confusion too strong.

“Calm down, child,” Mystique is grasping her shoulder now.

“I didn’t kill her!” She had screamed this before. Knew it when she looked over the file. How?Why?! “She shouldn’t have died!”

“You didn’t kill anyone, Rogue.”

“Cody!” she gasps suddenly because the only part of herself she could find was in the pain of her first boyfriend. “I put him in a coma. He died when they took him off life support. I killed him.”

Both Mystique’s hands are on her shoulders as if physically trying to pull Rogue out of her swirl of misery. Rogue’s not sure what’s worse, her distress or Carol’s.

“-lass has finally cracked-”

The dark void returns and she graciously blacks out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted: 2/13/18


	4. Rogue Four

When she comes to, she’s on her bed at the base. She doesn’t know what day or time it is. And by the way her stomach aches she’s sure she hasn’t eaten in a while.

She feels stiff and it takes a moment to realize her clothes have been changed. There’s a wrap around her torso.

“You’re awake.” Rogue turns away from the ceiling to see Mama standing in the doorway with a tray of food.

“Mama-”

“Don’t try to sit up,” she warns placing the tray on her lap as she sits on Rogue’s bed. “You’ve been out for two and a half days. Black Widow assured us that you are healing. Your ribs may have been broken.”

May have. Meaning no one with any actual medical background looked at her.

“Drink,” she puts the juice up to Rogue’s face but she waves it away. “Drink it, Rogue. You’re weak.” Rogue thinks that last part has a double meaning. She sips the juice without further protest though.

“You still have the Avengers?”

“Yes. Black Widow is being contained in the cells. The witch is being kept sedated.”

“What are you planning to do with them?”

The original plan had been to steal their plane. And hurt them a bit in revenge. But that went out the window when Rogue let the plane crash. Probably for the best, she thought. A plane would have been nice for their team but no doubt the Avengers had trackers on all of their equipment.

“I’m not sure,” she admits taking the cup from Rogue and pushing the bowl towards her filled with steaming broth. “Avalanche is still in containment. Perhaps a trade.”

“Two for one. That’s hardly fair.” She sips the broth. “Why don’t you ask Iron Man for one of those Quinjets he’s hiding in his basement?” She chuckles but Mystique doesn’t.

“How do you know he has Quinjets?” Rogue tenses knowing very well who knew that. Or guessed at it. To say it out loud would be to admit she’s not completely better yet.”Rogue, you must tell me what has happened.”

“I held on too long,” she holds back the cry in her voice. “I can hear her in my head Mama. Like I _am_ her.” The anger surges back because Mystique was the one telling her to hold on. “I ain’t want to keep holding on! I wanted to let go!”

“You brought up Cody again.” Just like her Mama to ignore her emotional outburst.

“I always carry him around. Now I got Carol Danvers too. I don’t want her. I don’t want any of ‘em!”

“It’ll pass, Rogue. Like it always does.”

“You don’t know that! You only know I can copy mutants powers!” Rogue huffs annoyed that her protests are going unheard. “Night was right! You don’t care about me. Only my powers.”

“That’s not true-”

“I felt like I was dyin’! I was takin’ her life, Mama. Suckin’ her dry and I felt like I was dyin’ right along with her.”

“You’re fine. You’re both fine.”

“Stop sayin’ that!” she screeches. “It’s easier for you. You just take their looks but you don’t take anything about ‘em. I gotta carry their feelings and thoughts too. You don’t know what it’s like not bein’ the only person in your own head!”

“That’s enough.” She doesn’t yell but her tone is firm. “You’re right I don’t know what it’s like for you but my life has been far from easy. I can only teach you so much. But I’m still your mother. And your leader. I expect the respect that comes with that. You’re ungrateful.”Rogue bites her lip to keep from wincing. “I’ve tried my best by you,”she partially morphs into the blond older woman she’d first appeared to Rogue as years ago. “Making sure those humans didn’t hurt you or make you feel less than them.” Rogue turns away chastened.

“I know, Mama.”

“Kurt hates me,” she says succinctly and it’s the most heartbroken Rogue’s ever heard her sound. At once she changes back into her normal blue form. Rogue opens her mouth to protest the statement but Mystique puts up a hand. “He does. I’m not blind to it. It is of my own making. But I cannot stand to have you hate me too.”

“I don’t hate you, Mama.”

She doesn’t. She’s hard pressed to say she hates anybody at this point. She says she hates the Wagners but she really don’t because they’ve been too nice to Nightcrawler. She hated Marvel but it’s hard to hate somebody whose thoughts and feelings are in your head like your own. She don’t think she could ever hate her Mama.

“Rest,” Mystique says after a few minutes of silence and Rogue has finished drinking her broth and juice. “You’ll need to regain your strength.”

 

“No,” she says just as Mystique reaches the threshold of her room. “I’m Brotherhood. I’m strong, always.” The words had been drilled into her for years.

The other woman says nothing but gives her a nod of agreement.

* * *

When she wakes up coughing, she knows something’s wrong. Smoke is pouring into her room under the door. Rising from her bed gingerly she can feel every zing of pain from her battered ribs not to mention the way the tight bandages cut into her skin. She grabs her brown jacket, biting her lip to hold back a cry of pain as she slips it on.

She touches the door feeling the heat coming from it. The sound of fire blazing and metal bending kicks her into high gear. She’s dizzy but she knows she has to get out of the building if it’s on fire. _How much of the base_?

She silently promises Pyro a world of pain if this is his idea of a prank.

She opens the vent grating in her ceiling before pulling herself up into it. The sounds echoing through it make her cringe. The pain from her ribs is ever present though not as incapacitating as it was before. A couple rooms over is a window. She just has to make it there.

She sees fire in the room and something sparking. She has to get through the window though. She punches down falling to the floor and rattling her body. She goes to open the window but when she turns around she sees the fire hit the sparking electrical cord. In a panic she shields herself with the last bits of Bobby’s ice power forming a shield of ice over the front of her body.

The short explosion throws her backwards through the window, glass shattering around her. She feels cuts into her skin and they dig deeper when she lands hard on her back after falling two floors.

She groans turning onto her side. When she looks in the distance she sees Blob rushing from the building. Their entire base is ablaze. Even if she could still feel Bobby’s powers, she’d never be able to temper that big of an inferno.

“Blob!” she yells then breaks off into a cough. “Blob wait!” He finally stops. Turning to look at her. 

“Thought you were dead, girly,” he calls back. She catches up to him easy enough. 

“Where’s Mama?”

“Gone,” a sharp pain seizes her body. “Magneto showed up with his other kid. Busted Witch and Widow out.”

“What about the other guys?”

“Pyro and Toad are a couple of traitors,” Blob spits. “They’re Magneto’s men now. Pyro helped him start the fire. I high tailed it out of there once they took Mystique.”

She...Mama wasn’t dead.

Rogue hits him before she can sigh in relief.

“You coward! Why didn’t you help her?!”

“Hey! I’m not dyin’ over this! We didn’t have a chance. I’m going underground and if you’re smart you’ll do the same.”

He turns to keep doing his version of running. Rogue doesn’t follow, instead turning back to look at the base that had been her home for five years engulfed in flames and smoke. She wanted to go after Mama but she wasn’t strong enough yet. Still healing. And still weak.

She coughs again worried if she had smoke inhalation. She frowns. Not sure where she should go. There’s no base and her Mama was captured.

She hadn’t been so alone since she’d been kicked from her birth family. And at the first sign of real trouble her new one fell apart.

* * *

When she knocked on the door she had hoped it would be Nightcrawler that answered.

“Rogue?” Unfortunately it’s Mr. Wagner. He’s clad in pajamas and a night robe. “Is everything alright?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Wagner,” she starts probably looking more than out of sorts. “I know you ain’t got no responsibility towards me but I ain’t got nowhere else to go.”

He ushers her inside. It’s almost midnight. A light is turned on in the living room when Mrs. Wagner enters. She looks between Rogue and her husband questioningly. He doesn’t say anything but whatever look he gives her causes her eyes to light in some understanding.

“I’ll get some blankets.”

In minutes the couch is covered to serve as her bed for the night. Water is placed in front of her. She leaves the sandwich untouched, not sure if her stomach can even handle it.

“Do you want us to wake Kurt?”

“No,” she says though she does want to see him, she feels a mess and can’t handle his judgemental eyes right now. And she’s got to find a way to give him the real story and make-up a cover for his fosters. “Let him sleep.”

“What happened?” Mrs. Wagner asks. “I saw the bandages. You don’t look well, Rogue.”

Rogue’s sure they’re thinking all sorts of terrible things. She just shakes her head not wanting to tell them before she talks to Nightcrawler. She uses the bathroom and sees what they see. Her hair is matted. Her clothes are singed and burned in places. She’s covered in old bruises from her fight that are slowly healing. Her torso bandages are exposed and dirty. She pulls her hair over her neck and feels for the pieces of glass that were still embedded in her skin.

She can feel Carol’s healing powers working but they’re not fast enough because she’s weak from hunger.

In short, she looks a hot mess.

“Rogue.” She turns her head at the sound of her brother’s voice.

“I told ‘em not to wake ya,” she says and Night hugs her. He sees the way she shoves her hands in her pockets. He poofs away, reappearing with a pair of mittens for her.

He uses tweezers to pick the glass from her back. His foster parents are still awake though they give them privacy in the bathroom.

She whispers, scared they’ll overhear as she tells him about the fate of the base and Mystique’s capture.

“It was a bad plan,” he says at the end. “The Brotherhood took more losses than gains.”

They took no gains only losses.

She’d lost nearly everything. The only place she’d called home. The people she thought of as family. Her Mama was God knows where. And her younger brother was picking glass out of her back.

“I’m sorry.”

“Shh,” he hushes her gently dislodging another piece. “You have nothing to apologize for.”

Mrs. Wagner later helps her change her bandages. And gives her some sweats to sleep in. Her sleep isn’t comfortable. She’s restless and it’s the first one since draining Marvel that she dreams. Her dreams or memories are vicious and too vivid for her liking.

She wakes up to the sounds of someone in the kitchen and light streaming through the window. She doesn’t know what day it is mainly because she hadn’t known for a while. She wonders if Nightcrawler is still there or if he had school.

She decides she can’t very well stay under the covers all day. She uses the bathroom before venturing into the kitchen.

“Good morning,” Mrs. Wagner greets happily. Rogue does her best not to sneer at the Steprford wife looking woman, with her hair done, a newspaper and coffee in hand. She looks so put together in direct contrast to how Rogue looks and feels. Like her life has fallen apart.

“Mornin’,” she replies, her voice cracking a bit which earns her a small smile from the older woman. “What day is it?”

“Tuesday,” she supplies. “You’re welcome to cereal for breakfast if you’d like.” She settles for just a bowl of milk and adds sugar, not trusting her body to solid foods yet. Sitting at the island with Mrs. Wagner she tunes into the small tv. The woman switches to the news and Rogue unintentionally gasps when she sees Tony Stark on the screen.

“-regroup and be back in action in no time at all.” His sunglasses sit on his forehead as several mics are shoved toward his face.

“Any news on the health of Captain Marvel?”

“Carol Danvers is strong and a valued member to the team. We are all rooting for her. Her health is of the utmost concern.” Rogue can tell he’s uncomfortable. The way his jaw sets and his tone becomes less personal. He’s worried. “The doctors are doing all they can to ensure her recovery.”

“Is it true that she’s been comatose for four days?”

“Like I said, she’s recovering.” He flips his sunglasses down over his eyes. “If you’ll excuse me.”

“It’s a shame,” Mrs. Wagner says as the news switches to cover another story. “Avengers are out there trying to make a good name for powered people. And there are those who just can’t accept that.”

Rogue ducks her head down to drink more of her milk.

“It ain’t always that simple,” she mumbles but Mrs. Wagner catches it.

“Why do you think people attack groups like the Avengers?”

Rogue knows she has to tread carefully. The history, the _real_ history about Nightcrawler and Rogue is more or less vague to the Wagners. For all they know, Kurt has an abusive human mother named Misty and Rogue’s his human sister.

“It ain’t just dislike. Sometimes people have a shared belief about somethin’ and they got different ways of goin’ about it.”

“Avengers proport peace.”Clearly Mrs. Wagner refuses to just let it lie. “They fight to protect all human kind. Powered and non.”

“It’s different for them,” she argues earning a look from the older woman. “Kurt didn’t have a choice about bein’ blue and teleportin’. Tony Stark can shed his suit. Captain America chose to be changed. There’s no ‘going back’ to being human for people like Kurt. You’re a mutant til you die.”

“Which is why we need peace between humans and...mutants.” Rogue nearly rolls her eyes at the woman’s unease at calling a duck a duck.

“Humans don’t trust mutants. Not all of ‘em. And they only like ‘em when they can do something for ‘em. Peace between humans and mutants means mutants hiding who they are so the humans don’t think less of ‘em. Or fear ‘em.”

“So you think there will always be violence between humans and mutants?”

“Course there is. Cause we’ll always be different.” Mrs. Wagner’s eyes widen just a smidge. “People only unite to fight common enemies. And since we ain’t got none right now, we’ll keep fightin’ each other.”

“Is this what Misty believes?” Mrs. Wagner interjects. “Or you?” Rogue doesn’t answer. “You’re a mutant too, aren’t you?”

Rogue tenses because the first time a human had ever called her that directly, it’d been her Daddy with all the derision in the world in his voice. It shamed her in a way she could never understand. And took years of Mystique’s guidance to remove the taint he’d injected into the word.

“I know I’m prying but you came to our door and looked as if you had just got out of a fire fight. I saw the bowl of glass and blood. I changed those bandages. Your ribs looked bruised if not worse.” Rogue stares out the window over the other woman’s shoulder.

“I shouldn’t have come here-”

“Please don’t go,” Mrs. Wagner pleads and Rogue pauses. “I don’t want to chase you away. I’m worried. Because you’re Kurt’s sister and it hurts me to know you’re in pain whether from home or not I don’t know.”

“Kurt’s a kid, he deserves to be safe.”

“You’re not even twenty are you? Why aren’t you allowed to be safe too?” Mrs. Wagner turns to face her full on . “This isn’t my first time around the block, Rogue. And Kurt’s not the first mutant that’s been raised in our home.”

That surprises her. She’d wondered if they were weird, strange humans who feel better about themselves by helping the latest victims society in some backwards ignorant trend.

“Mutant life ain’t easy for everybody. Kurt can’t change how he looks but he can get out of anywhere he don’t want to be in the blink of an eye.” She’d envied him. Still kind of did. The one time she’d borrowed his powers before swearing never to do it again, she had enjoyed the perks. “I can’t touch people.”

Mrs. Wagner’s head tilts in confusion. Her gaze drifts to the pink mittens she was still wearing that Nightcrawler had given her the night before.

“I’ve seen Kurt hug you before-”

“He’s careful. Knows not to touch my skin. Other people don’t know that so I’m careful. Gloves, long sleeves, pants. I’d wear a mask if it didn’t make me look like a freak.”

“Oh, Rogue…” she says sadly and it’s only then that she realizes she’s crying again. She touches at the tears on her cheek. When had she gotten so soft? Mama would be furious right now. Showing weakness in front of a human. Giving up details about her she’d kept close to her. She sniffs, rubbing at her face. 

“I’ll be out of your hair tonight.” She wants to see Nightcrawler again before she leaves.

“And where will you go? Who will take care of you? You’re hurt-”

“I ain’t your responsibility Mrs. Wagner. And I ain’t Kurt’s either.”

“Where’s Misty?” Rogue doesn’t answer again. Still unsure of what lie she should feed. “When Kurt’s adoption papers were finalized they told us she had relinquished her parental rights. But I still feel that woman has a strong pull over him. And you. Why?”

Rogue had been furious with Mama when she’d admitted that only after 6 months of being fostered by the Wagners, she’d allowed Night to be adopted and gave up her rights. Rogue had called her cold, cruel names for giving up her son like trash to a pair of humans and she’d expected some sort of backlash. Instead the woman had just left the base for a few days with no word to anyone, not even Destiny.

_“She loves him,” Destiny later told her after scolding her for her treatment of Mystique, “Sometimes she hates that she does.”_

It took a while for Rogue to really understand what Destiny was trying to explain.

“You think she’s bad,” Rogue grumbles to Mrs. Wagner. “She ain’t bad. She’s the first person that ever accepted me as I was. She taught me how to be myself.”

The look Mrs. Wagner shoots her confuses her.

“Misty’s not your birth mother is she?” Rogue hates how observant this woman is. “Rogue?”

“She’s Kurt’s.”

“Is she yours?” Rogue doesn’t say anything. “You don’t need to lie to me. Please, this changes nothing, I would just like to know.”

“No,” she finally says turning back to her milk. “But I wish she was.”

Neither woman says anything for a few moments. Rogue can only think Mrs. Wagner must dislike Mystique even more for the woman’s audacity to garner more care from a girl not of her blood than her own son.

“Kurt worries about you. He probably does not want me telling you this but I used to attend his therapy sessions regularly. He would always say ‘my sister this’ and ‘my sister that’. He loves you. And he was convinced that Misty was going to hurt you terribly. Every time you've stopped by you looked okay but you looked sad. Uncomfortable. And last night I thought he was right, it finally happened.”

“Please-” she begs barely speaking. She can’t hear any more of this. This woman knows nothing about Mystique. Destiny had helped teach her too but Mystique had always been Mama. Not this ‘Misty’ that Mrs. Wagner had conjured in her head. Kurt was a wounded kid. And angry because he didn’t know the truth. “She ain’t bad. Kurt... he don’t know everything. He know what she wanted him to know but he don’t know everything.”

“Do you?”

“I know enough. I just...I can’t stay here Mrs. Wagner. I just want to talk to him and I’ll be on my way.”

“Don’t go back to her.”It was an almost desperate request that sounded more like a demand. “You may be right, I don’t know everything but please take some time to find out who you are outside of Misty.” She pauses but continues when Rogue doesn’t immediately rebuff the idea. “I know a place run by a man. He’s come by before. His name is Charles Xavier he runs a school-” Rogue snorts. “I take it you’ve heard of him?”

“Yes. Never met him but heard the name.”

“He’s a good man.”

“He’s soft,” she bites out and immediately regrets it. “He wouldn’t know what to do with somebody like me. I ain’t good. Not like Kurt.” Mrs. Wagner’s expression softens at her words.

“Kurt told him the same thing. Rogue, he might be able to help you find your feet. I hear he’s very good at teaching young mutants how to control their powers.” She nods towards Rogue’s hands cupped around her nearly empty bowl. “Maybe he could help you.”

She wants to snap at the other woman. But she remembers that it was exactly what she’d wanted. Something Mama couldn’t give her. 

And she wanted to be Rogue without carrying Cody around. Without feeling like she was part Carol Danvers.

Mrs. Wagner, sensing she’d made some ground stood up.

“How about you stay another night and we can make a call to Professor Xavier in the morning?”

She wants to say no, she really does, because it’s her job to rescue Mystique. Nobody else is going to do it. No one to really do so save for her. She doesn’t have time fraternizing with the enemy.

But the woman looks so sincere that it makes Rogue uneasy about disappointing somebody that her brother calls ‘Mom’.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted: 2/19/2018


	5. Rogue Five

She tries to leave but Mrs. Wagner is intent on mothering her all day. Keeping her in bed, bringing things to her that she could typically get herself. Nightcrawler coming home from school is a bit of reprieve until she realizes he’s just as smothering as his adopted mother.

“I’m healing!” she hisses after he brings her a fifth cup of water when she’s barely finished the third.

“You’re dehydrated and underfed,” he says succinctly like an arrogant know it all.

“You don’t know-”

“My mother is a travelling nurse,” he says.

“Would’ve pegged her for a shrink the way she keeps talkin’ to me all day.”

“She has a degree in psychology as well.”

“Figures.” Which makes no sense. Why would a woman with two degrees be staying at home? “She on vacation or something?”

“She will return to work after I graduate.”

Rogue finds that unexpected. Who decides to become a stay at home mom just to raise their adopted mutant kid? 

After dinner, Mrs. Wagner makes the call to Professor Xavier. Rogue isn’t really an active participant. It’s a quick call where it’s decided that she and the three Wagners will stop by the school once Kurt gets home the next day.

Rogue stays pensive and quiet. She knew of Xavier in the way that Mama used to mention Magneto’s love/hate of his rival. And the way Pyro seems to regret his former teacher. The image of the hot head once having been a dutiful student in a school uniform attending classes caused her to giggle at his expense. Mystique was careful to avoid direct confrontation with Xavier's mutants on their missions and jobs. X-men were usually sent in long after their team had vacated the scene of the crime.

Rogue is grateful for that at least. It will make encountering the professor less awkward.

"He is a very understanding man," Nightcrawler whispers to her when they're sitting in the SUV on their way to school grounds. "When we discussed my history-"

"You told him?" she rears back but careful not to draw too much attention from the couple in the front. 

"I had no choice," Nightcrawler says and she knows if it was visible he would be blushing embarrassed. Rogue however grows angry.

"Did he force some kind of ultimatum? Tell me your past or I won't admit you, huh?"

"It's not like that," he protests weakly. "You'll see when you meet him." He pauses then there's a glint in his eye. "And for your information he did offer me admittance." Nightcrawler puffs up his chest a bit.

"He sounds like your hero,” she says with a roll of her eyes and just a bit of envy. “Why you ain’t goin’ there then instead of that public school?"

"Because I enjoy living with my parents."

Rogue stews over it for a bit. Nightcrawler respects the man, that much she can tell but he loves his adoptive parents too much to go off to boarding school. He'd be more accepted there, she's sure, in a school for mutants.

When they arrive at the gates, a tall man that looks more like a bodybuilder than a high school student lets them in. The Wagners look around in awe at the campus. It's isolated and large. The mansion does not excite her but makes her want to shrink. If she had Nightcrawler's powers she would use them to poof away. A horrid thought enters her mind briefly about giving him just a slight touch...

His hand at her back urges her forward and she shakes the thought from her mind.  
There were kids, teens, and adults of all ages mulling about when they entered the mansion. They only got a few looks, most directed towards Night than her she noticed. But they were more cursory looks. Not looks of derision or disgust.

Rogue probably looked no different than a normal teen. Her long sleeve shirt and jeans were brand new courtesy of the Wagners. The man, Piotr, leads them through the never ending halls until they are waiting in an office. Rogue goes to the window that overlooks a large part of the grounds. She's taken back by the view, a beautiful scene of nature. A fortress isolated deep in the forests.

She's not much of a naturist but she can appreciate the setting.

"Good afternoon."

She turns at the new voice. The bald man is in a wheelchair. Although he says it to the group, he's looking at Rogue and smiling.

"It is so nice to see you again, Charles," Mrs. Wagner says coming towards him to shake his hand. Mr. Wagner does the same. This man wasn't what she imagined when she thought of the Professor Xavier. He looked too...gentle.

He rolls to in front of his desk and swivels to face them. 

"It is good to see you here again, Kurt," the man greets Nightcrawler who only ducks his head shyly and smiles his thanks. Then the man turns toward her. "You must be Rogue."  
The Wagners and Nightcrawler are looking at her expectantly.

"I am," she says quickly. "You're Professor Xavier."

"I am," he says, the smile on his face carrying into his voice. "In the brief conversation I had with Elaine, she has told me that you come from a difficult situation."

Difficult is putting it lightly. Though she still takes offense to the implication. Some of it must show on her face.

"Others got it worse," is all she says not wanting to give anything up to rich folks who delve out charity. The professor breaks his gaze with her.

"Would you all give us a moment?" Rogue tenses.

"Why they gotta leave?" She asks not for the Wagners benefit but for Nightcrawler's. She doesn't want to be left alone with this man.

"Would you rather Kurt to stay?"

Her eyes narrow. She shouldn't seem so needy. But she feels better with someone watching her back. She has to remember this guy is a mutant himself; the type she doesn't know yet, but for a man in a wheelchair to be the protector of a school of the most hated type on the planet, he's got to be strong somehow. And she's not exactly in top fighting condition at the moment.

"Yes." It wouldn’t do good things to her pride to be bested by an old cripple.

"We'll be outside," Mrs. Wagner says before she and her husband exit closing the doors behind them. The click of the doors in place echo her resolve strengthening.

"I make it a practice to try and get to know all prospective students,” the professor explains as Night moves to stand directly next to her. “To make sure a place like this would be a good fit."

"So you got requirements for a place that's supposed to be a safe haven? That must suck for the kids who get denied." She snorts. "They can’t even fit in amongst the outcasts."

His voice is just as calm when he replies.

"Some personalities do not thrive in a school setting like this much to my displeasure. I strive to help as many as I can. Not everyone is ready. And the safety of the students already in my care is paramount."

She scratches at a non existent itch.

"I'm 19. Not exactly a bubbly school girl."

"School age students are taught the typical state required curriculum. However the co-curriculars with focus in mutant development are enjoyed by a variety of ages. Even some of the teachers here still attend lessons with myself." He shifts in his chair. "When did you leave school?"

Rogue startles because she hadn't told him that. She looks to Nightcrawler.

"Did you tell him-"

"Kurt mentioned his lack of formal schooling, yes,” the professor answers instead. “He mentioned that his sister would teach him what she knew but that she had not finished high school. I connected the dots so to speak."

Rogue stares at Nightcrawler feeling betrayed.

"I started my freshman year," she admits slowly pulling her hardened gaze from her brother. "Almost finished but I...left after spring break." The image of Cody is gone as quickly as it appears. The professor frowns likely disappointed at her lack of formal education. "I don’t need all them book smarts so that ain’t an invitation to enroll me in your _basic curriculum_."

The image of kids looking at her like a freak appear. Her so called Daddy calling her one and pointing that gun at her, a warning clear as day to get lost or else.

"Maybe not," Xavier cuts in. "But I assure you, your peers would think no less of you to join them in their classes. Believe it or not, Rogue, you would not be my eldest pupil."

It doesn't matter to her. She wouldn't feel right, going to school with kids Night's age. And they'd be green. She wonders how many of them ever been in a real fight. One where their life is on the line. Precious few she'd think, coddled here in this safe haven away from the judgmental and prejudiced eyes of the real world.

"We have students here from all walks of life, all over the world," the professor continues in her silence. You may be surprised in whom you could find confidantes. Friends."

"I don't need friends," she says but it's not really true. She wanted a family. Had a family or at least she thought she had in Mystique, Destiny, Kurt, the Brotherhood, the Avengers-

Wait.

The Avengers weren't her family! She realizes that thought isn’t her own. She shakes her head just as the Professor's expression changes inquisitively.

"I see," he murmurs in response. "Would you be willing to tell me about your powers?"

"How about you tell me about yours?"

He smiles humoring her.

"I am a telepath predominantly." She thinks for a bit having heard the term before.

"You mean you can talk to people in their mind?"

_Amongst other things._ She hears in her head and she holds back a gasp though not the involuntary step back. The thoughts and feelings of Carol’s are more like ingrained whispers whereas the professor is like a guy on a megaphone in her mind. _I can read minds as well_.

Rogue's brain fortunately goes blank in surprise. Then anger and fear promptly follows.  
She looks for the exits, eyeing the window for a quick escape. Unbidden an image of her fight with Captain Marvel appears before she thinks of a brick wall and nothing but a wall. He can't know.

But by the slight widening of his eyes she can tell it's too late.

"Rogue," it's Night's voice that stops her. He grabs her arm only then realizing she had started to move towards the window. He knew she was ready to escape before she had. "He won’t betray you. He's seen worse in my head." She doubts it.

She whirls on him.

"You knew he could read minds and didn't think to warn me?" She yanks her arm out of his grasp, feeling angry and more betrayed than before. She wonders if this was how Mama felt when the Brotherhood turned on her.

"If I had told you, you would not have come."

It's true. But it's exactly _why_ he should have told her. Night might have his goody goody parents and his age to protect him from punishment. But she was an adult and completely at fault for her wrong doings. She could go to prison.

“You’re darn tootin’ I wouldn’t have-!”

"Rogue, there is no need to flee."

"I don't know you so I can't trust you," she hisses at the professor. "My thoughts are my own. Stay outta my head!"

"As you wish." He agrees so quickly that she's not sure she can even trust those words. "This is not a place of judgement. I find it easier to determine a person's true nature and intent from a cursory glance of their mind. Words can be false. But it is harder to place a facade over the mind."

She can agree with that statement. But she needed a facade. For protection. She didn't want to be laid raw before this man she didn't know.

"I knew your mother." That catches her attention. "Mystique. I told Kurt the same."

"When she still associated with Magneto," Night explains. Her brows furrow. The image of the base going up in flames and Blob's words haunting her.

"What has he done?" Xavier asks suddenly alarmed. 

"I thought I told you to stay out of my head." Rogue snaps but then she notices he's looking at Nightcrawler. 

"I see," he says simply but his posture is more tense this time and his voice has a tinge to it that indicates he’s not as calm as he’s trying to sound.

"See what?"

"I showed him our conversation,” Night’s answering her but still looking at the Professor. “What you looked like that night. What you told me about the fire. About Magneto."

"That fool of a man," Xavier grumbles. "He claims mutants are superior to humans and yet he wages warfare like a rabid dog sometimes."

His words are gruff and full of regret. Rogue wonders on the shared history between Mama, Magneto, and the man before her. 

"I'll be frank, professor. If I stay here it's only to learn how to control my powers. I gotta save Mama. I'm the only one that will." She ignores Night looking at her. "And I aint strong enough yet to do it by myself."

"Magneto has powerful allies," Professor explains. "Mutants, _trained_ mutants willing to fight with him. You're just one young woman, Rogue. Is saving Mystique worth the risk to your life?"

"Yes," she answers without missing a beat. "She’s the first person that accepted me and taught me that it was okay to be who I am. My own flesh and blood was ready to kill me just for what I was. Throw me out like trash. I don’t care what you think about her or what she’s done! I'm not gonna repay Mama for what she’s done for me by letting her rot in Magento's clutches."

The professor clasps his hands under his chin watching her with a different light in his eyes. He holds her gaze for a long while but she doesn't shy from the stare. She tries to study him. Understand this wheelchair bound intellectual that reads minds like a newspaper.

"Very well," he says finally, sitting straight in his chair again. "I will help you to control your abilities. When you are ready you may of course follow your own path and do with them as you wish. I cannot stop you though I cannot condone illegal and untoward activities while you are enrolled."

"You mean you'll kick me out if I rescue Mama?"

"Mystique is a wanted criminal, in and outside of the mutant world," he explains firmly. "Aiding her in any way while you are still a guest here will revoke your enrollment. Is that understood?"

"Crystal." She grumbles but when she looks at Night he's smiling at her. "What?"

"You will enroll?" He barely contains his excitement before turning to the professor. "You will offer her admittance?" When she turns back, professor has a small smile. He gives a slight nod of his head.

Night poofs away for two seconds before he's back. The door opens and the Wagners re-enter the room.

"Kurt looked excited..." Mrs. Wagner hedges with a tentative smile forming on her face. "Is that good news?" Rogue rolls her eyes.

"Rogue has been extended an offer to join the school," the professor explains. "I've yet to hear her answer."

She wants to say something snarky like she'll think about it. But she doesn't want to lean on the Wagners' kindness any longer than she has to. The genuine hopefulness in Night's adopted parents faces actually warm her a bit to think they care about her. Then a thought occurs to her.

"How much is tuition?"

* * *

Considering she had nothing that belonged to her anymore. It was decided that the Wagners would make their way home and Rogue would be set up in a room. She wouldn't start any classes until the next week so that she could get settled, learn the campus, meet people. She was given a job which was pretty much just glorified chores as an opportunity to pay her room and board. 

She finally told professor about the extent of the fire so she was given a small allowance to purchase a few necessities like clothing and personals.

Before they left, the Wagners reminded her that she could call them anytime she needed something. And that she was welcome to their home for all holidays. She wasn't sure how often she would take them up on the offer but she appreciated them all the same. She even gave Mrs. Wagner a slight hug and by the way her face lit up, Rogue thought she'd made the woman's whole day.

Although she was nervous, Rogue also felt an odd excitement. 

When they left the room, Piotr was still standing guard but he was talking to a small dark haired girl. Compared to him, she looked like a tiny mouse talking to a giant but he looked down, nodding intently. _Like the Hulk talking to Wasp_. She was quick to shake that thought away.

"Kitty," the professor says interrupting the pair's conversation. She joins them immediately. "I would like to introduce you to Rogue. She is our newest student." Rogue frowns at 'student', hoping the professor remembers her stating she did _not_ want to attend the regular classes. "As you are free this evening I hoped you could show her to her room and around the campus a bit."

"Of course, Professor."

"Will you be able to find my office tomorrow morning?" He directs the question to Rogue.

"I'll manage." He nods before spinning his chair leaving the two girls alone.

Kitty Pryde is a bit of a chatterbox, not bothered by Rogue's vague and non answers. She doesn't ask after Kitty's powers because she knows the girl will want to know hers. She learns she's 18, a high school senior, and close to reaching the advanced level in professor's trainings. She's also a member of their specialized team.

"X-men?" Rogue asks, pretending to be ignorant.

"Yeah, we're specially trained to do missions. Help society. Fight when needed to protect the school, other mutants and humans."

"You're superheroes like the Avengers?"

"We work with them sometimes," she admits missing Rogue's sarcasm. "And yes Captain America is as gorgeous as he appears on TV." She wonders how often the girl gets that question. Rogue smirks but frowns when an image of a sweat glistened Steve Rogers wearing nothing but sweat pants and training in a gym, pops into her brain. 

Though the professor knows her history, she's unwilling to share it with his students. Suddenly she's worried that there may be other telepaths in the school. These kids probably worship the Avengers and the good guys. She'd fought against their heroes. 

She was the reason one of them was comatose in a hospital.

"Here we are," she says when they approach an ornate door. Kitty unlocks it with the key Professor gave her, opening the door and allowing Rogue inside first. She steps in seeing the clean bed but bare walls. There's an unplugged lamp, a window and an ornate chest. "Home sweet home."

Rogue snorts but she can appreciate the small space. At the base she had a room but considering it was more of an abandoned factory, it never felt homey. Words echoed in some rooms. There was no carpeting anywhere. Walls weren't painted outside of bland and blander.  
She runs a finger along the windowsill pulling away a dust free gloved finger.

"Are you cold?" She turns seeing Kitty still in the doorway. The girl is pointing towards her.”The gloves?"

"No." She doesn't explain any further. Kitty seems to get the hint after a moment of awkward silence.

"Alrighty then." She lets it drop thankfully. And Rogue continues staring out the window. The view isn’t as glorious as the one in Professor Xavier’s office. She can see students and teachers she assume walking to and fro on a lawn.

The room lights up when Kitty plugs in and turns on the lamp. 

“My room’s about six doors down if you need me.” Rogue says a quick thanks to the girl. She doesn’t want to get too close to anyone. She can’t afford to because she’ll always long for touch and interaction. It’s better to be both closed off physically and emotionally to everyone. “Are you ready to see the rest of the campus?”

Rogue would rather deny her and do exploring on her own. But she figures she should play nice for now. She can always explore later that night alone.

The tour takes longer than expected mainly because of how big the mansion is, and how many friends Kitty Pryde has. She figures in the mutant school realm the other girl must be pretty popular. Rogue wonders if it’s because of her X-men status which apparently isn’t open to everybody. Mostly teachers, and advanced students.

“So the big guy who led us,” Rogue remarks at one point in the tour, “Is he a teacher?”

“Piotr,” Kitty corrects, “he is twenty but he’s my year. He’s from Russia and an X-men as well.”

“He’s a student,” she mutters in disbelief earning a laugh from her guide.

“Yes. He is very strong in more ways than one. And kind if you get to know him. So don’t worry you won’t be bogged down around little kids all day. I’ll introduce you to as many people around our age as you want.”

“Thanks.” 

When they eventually make it back to Rogue’s room, Kitty doesn’t leave immediately.

“So do you remember where the professor’s office is? If not I can stop by in the morning and show you.”

“I think I’ve got it. But uh just in case you said...six doors down right?” she adds not wanting to offend the girl.

“Right.” She smiles and so does Rogue though it’s fake. She’s torn knowing that Kitty’s an X-men. Knowing that she’s been against them and eventually will again once she can get Mama out. She can’t have distractions or worse yet, start to care for these people.

The day has completely wiped her energy and instead of sneaking around the campus, sleep claims her. She dreams that night of her parents. Her father playing with her in the backyard swimming pool and her mother grilling hot dogs for them.

It’s not until she wakes up that she remembers her folks never had a swimming pool.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted: 2/23/18


	6. Rogue Six

“I wanted to speak to you about something I saw in your mind before you banned me.”

Professor Xavier was a morning person which irritated her to no end. His greetings had been chipper to her droning echo. The sun was barely up and the man was dressed in a suit and tie.

Rogue sat across from him on the other side of his desk in a hoodie and her jeans from the day before. She doesn’t answer him, simply nods her head.

“I saw a memory of you struggling with who looked like Captain Marvel of the Avengers.” Rogue looks down at her lap without confirmation. “And then I sensed something peculiar.”

“Peculiar?”

“Yes, I have been inside Captain Marvel’s head before, when she still went by Ms. Marvel. And her mental voice...echoed in your mind, Rogue.” Her body freezes up in anticipation of his next words. “Your powers of absorption extend beyond just absorbing powers don’t they?”

She thinks about Cody seizing on the bed in her childhood bedroom just after they’d shared their first kiss. She thinks about how he was screaming in her head for weeks after that.

“Yes,” she says unsteadily. “I’m not sure their extent but the longer I hold onto somebody the more I take from ‘em. Car- Captain Marvel was the longest I held onto anybody. I can still hear her.”

“I think it may even be more than that,” Professor says with a serious yet concerned expression. “I can help you sort this out Rogue but it will be difficult if you do not permit me entry into your mind.”

“This just some trick to get me to let you see all my secrets.”

“Not a trick,” he assures. “And while I’m sure Mystique did a well enough job teaching the basic tenets of control, she is no telepath. And your powers affect your mind. I do have some experience in that area.” His light smile is meant to comfort her and lull her into cooperating but it doesn’t.

She doesn’t want to let him in. She’s been keeping secrets all her life and this man has blown open a door in just a day. It was to protect her. Her and her team. But at this point she figures he’s got enough incriminating evidence against her to have her thrown in prison for life. She’d practically confessed to incapacitating an Avenger.

“Fine,” she grumbles crossing her arms. “But I don’t like it.”

“I promise I will only search your mind as needed.” She doesn’t believe him. Mainly because he probably doesn’t understand the boundaries to know when and when it isn’t needed. “So, you have Captain Marvel’s abilities?”

“I think so,” she shifts in her seat. “But I don’t know how to use ‘em. Haven’t practiced actually. She can fly and she’s strong, I know that.”

“She has energy blasts,” he explains making her remember belatedly dodging those blasts in their fight. “Are you able to access her memories on demand?”

“No,” she admits frustration seeping into her voice. “They just pop up. Like they get triggered by different things.”

“Triggered how?” She explains the feelings that came up when watching Tony Stark’s interview on TV. And how Kitty mentioning Captain America triggered a Marvel memory of Steve Rogers. That one however came with mild awe and embarrassment. Sometimes her own thoughts could trigger it. “I see.”

“You don’t think it’s permanent do you?” That had worried her because even though it felt like Cody’s mind wasn’t plaguing her nearly as intensely as it had when it first happened, she’s not certain if it’s because he dwindled or if her mind just got used to his presence. Carol Danvers on the other hand seems to get more intense with each passing day.

“That I can’t say one way or another until we do a more thorough analysis.” She frowns disappointed. “However I can give you some cursory information on Captain Marvel.”

She listens intently as he gives her a quick background on Carol Danvers. Her youth and adolescence. Moreso on her involvement with S.W.O.R.D , an organization’s existence which had only reached the general public’s knowledge after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D. Her brain or rather the part infected with Carol’s memories would sometimes supply memories to go along with what the professor was saying.

“Carol Danvers is not a mutant in the classic sense,” he explains. “She acquired her powers after an incident with an alien, A Kree man whom had been in disguise as a human male on Earth for some time. She is a hybrid of sorts between human and Kree, demonstrating their powers.”

“Alien powers?” she asks trying to hold back the disgust. She’d remembered feeling something entirely foreign infiltrate her when she’d been holding Carol.“I sucked alien crap into me?”

Amused, the professor chuckles a little.

She starts to rub her arms again though. It concerns her because before it was just Captain Marvel and her powers. Rogue had taken in super strength before. She’d taken in super healing as well. But never something alien. It felt like there was a disease coursing through her veins. One she couldn’t fight.

“Do not fret,” the professor still looks amused but she doesn’t call him out on it. “We’ll figure it all out in due time.” A thought occurs to him. “I hope Kitty was an agreeable hostess for you yesterday.”

“Yeah,” sh answers slowly not certain about the change in subject. “She was fine.”

“Good. It’s important to make friends while here. It helps with the experience.”

Rogue wants to protest. She wasn’t here to make friends. She was here to train and learn how to improve her control. But she stays silent not wanting to annoy the man whom had so graciously allowed her to stay in his mansion.

If he heard her contrary thoughts he doesn’t comment.

“I have a class soon,” he says after a moment pulling back from his desk. “You are welcome to sit in if you wish. Or you may have the day to yourself.” She doesn’t want to sit in but she dawdles long enough in the relative peaceful solitude of his office until the first of his students begin to enter his office. She passes by them without a word ignoring a few of their curious looks.

In the early morning, there are people milling everywhere; young children, teenagers, and adults. They all walk with a purpose to one place or another, some chatting and giggling. She even sees a few tears from a young child. 

She’s still wearing the clothes Mrs. Wagner bought her, plus one of Mr. Wagner’s old hoodies. Though the majority of her skin is covered, she still flinches when someone walks too close into her space.

 _They wouldn’t if they knew the truth about me,_ she thinks darkly, shoving her hands into the front pocket. _They would give me a wide berth._

Since she has the day to herself she decides she needs clothes. However it’s clear that the mansion is in the middle of nowhere. She could try walking but who knows if public transportation even came out this far.

She supposed in this instance it was good to have a friend. With a car.

Unwillingly she finds herself heading in the direction of her room. She stops though when she hears music filtering from an open door. She realizes it’s Kitty’s room. The girl isn’t as girly girl as Rogue thought if her dark color scheme is anything to go by. Though she has a splash of pink in several places. She’s no mutant barbie.

She doesn’t want friends but she supposes a friendly acquaintance shouldn’t hurt.

She knocks.

The other girl looks up from where she’s throwing stuff into a shoulder pack.

“Oh hey,” she greets turning around to face Rogue fully.

“Mornin’,” she says leaning against the door.

“Do you need something?”

“Yeah, do you know where the nearest mall or anything is?” Her hands move of their own accord to pick at the hem of her hoodie. “I kinda have to buy clothes.”

“It’s not too many miles but there’s no highway so it’s all side road to get there.” She taps her chin. “I only have a class with professor and pre-calculus today. I could drive you out there after that.”

“I can take a taxi or somethin-”

“That fare alone will kill you,” she shoots back gathering her materials. “I insist. Besides I haven’t had a shopping day in forever.”

Rogue wants to shoot her down but the girl looks so young and hopeful that she just thanks her with a nod. She smiles and rushes out of the room after that with promises to meet up after her math class.

That leaves Rogue with a few hours to herself. She decides to clean up a bit. Brushing through her slightly frizzy hair. Showering and replacing the bandages around her midsection. The bruising is almost gone. She supposes her ribs are healing at the very least of their own accord.

Afterwards she makes her way to a common room finding a couple of students watching TV and lazing on the couches. She stays at the back of the room watching the TV but not really hearing it, instead picking up conversations from the gathered students.

One kid is lying on his back and levitating a ball a foot above his face. Another boy comes by and swipes his hand through the space between the boy’s hands and the ball causing it to fall and hit him in the face.

The second boy’s teasing laughter is rewarded with the ball being thrown at his head.

Rogue smirks at the scene. The laughing boy rubs his head, looks up, and sees her. He’s confused for a moment and she realizes he intends to ask her a question but she slips out of the room before he can.

She’s not ready to talk to anybody but it’s so hard to get away from the constant stream of people everywhere. She supposes she could be a recluse and stay in her room but she’d get cabin fever after like a day.

She ends up wandering around, finding the kitchens and eating a quick brunch. That’s where Kitty finds her.

“Ready to go?” she asks happily. Rogue immediately notices the asian girl standing next to Kitty. She’s only a hair shorter than Rogue’s guide. Her hair at first glance looks purple then it looks red. Her eyes are completely white, no pupil to be seen. Rogue wonders if the girl’s blind. “Oh this is Clarice by the way.”

“Nice to meet ya,” Rogue offers without a hand shake. The white eyed girl only smiles.Rogue figures she is going too so she doesn’t comment. “I’m ready.”

Rogue follows behind the pair as Kitty leads them to the garage. She and Clarice chatter quickly, it’s clear they’re good friends. Rogue takes the time to study the newcomer. She doesn’t walk unsteadily as if she were blind. Rogue wonder if maybe she’s just wearing white colored contacts.

“Are you blind?” Rogue asks not one to really hold her tongue. Kitty looks surprised but Clarice only chuckles.

“No,” she says then points toward her eyes. “A side effect of my powers.” Rogue only nods content not to ask anything else after that. Clarice however points at her head. “Is that from yours?”

Rogue’s confused at first until Clarice grabs a strand of her white hair quicker than she can knock the girl’s hand away.

“Yeah,” is all she says ignoring Kitty’s look of intrigue. Again Clarice smiles.

“You can ride shotgun.”

Getting into the car, gives Rogue an odd sense of dejavu but she ignores it as Kitty slides into the driver seat. 

“It’s my boyfriend’s car,” Kitty explains as she throws some trash into the backseat causing Clarice to squeal in disgust. “Says he’s only a slob in his personal spaces.” She throws something else chuckling at Clarice’s indignance. “I’ll believe that when I see it.”

“He won’t mind us takin’ his car?” Rogue asks glancing in the rearview mirror as if she expects some guy to come running out the door any second demanding his vehicle.

“Naw,” she says quickly and they’re pulling out of the garage at once.

The drive is nice and Rogue isn’t expected to speak much. Not that the girls ignore her, Kitty tries to pull her in, ask her superficial questions about her history but Rogue keeps it vague and short. And the girls are able to keep themselves occupied talking about boys and what not.

When they reach the mall, Rogue shops efficiently. Looking for bargain sales and long sleeve everything. Jeans and long pants. 

Kitty and Clarice aren’t actively shopping themselves, moreso perusing and chatting away and giving Rogue unasked for opinions on her choices. Annoyed at her choosing another pair of bootcut jeans, Kitty tries to force a pair of skinnies on her. But Rogue hates how tight they are and constrict her leg movement so Kitty desists on the legwear.

“There’s an olympic sized pool,” Kitty says when Rogue bypasses a section of summer clothing. Rogue stops and looks at her.

“What?”

“At the school,” she says and holds up a sage colored bikini and smiles. “Sure you don’t like it?”

Rogue’s shaking her head before the girl even finishes.

“I don’t do bikinis,” she replies without an ounce of mirth.

“At least a one piece.” Rogue wants to say she doesn’t do skin. “Tankinis are hot now.” She’ll have to give her something or the other girl will drive her crazy.

“I can’t have exposed skin,” she says quickly. “‘Cause of my powers,” she continues a little above a whisper.

Kitty’s teasing expression falls immediately.

“Oh I’m sorry,” she hangs the swimsuit back up quickly leaving the section. “I saw some fancy gloves in the back,” she says her good mood returning at once. Rogue dutifully follows.

In the course of the trip Rogue finds out that Clarice also goes by Blink and that she’s a year younger than Kitty at 17.

When they reach the school grounds again there’s a man waiting with arms crossed in the garage. He’s got some sort of visor over his eyes. If Rogue wasn’t who she was she might be intimidated by his physique and posture. She wonders if this is the “Boyfriend” but doesn’t ask. He looks old enough to be in his thirties but Rogue gave up on trying to guess people’s ages after having met Piotr.

“Uh oh,” Kitty mumbles earning a muffled chuckle from Blink. “Guess I’m in trouble.” The three girls slowly get out of the car. “Hey Cyke,” Kitty greets the man. “What’s up?”

“You know what’s up,” he answers all business. “Cars are supposed to be signed out.” Rogue grabs her bags out of the back seat keeping an ear on the conversation. “Who’s this?”

 _“We_ ,” Kitty pulls Blink next to her, “were showing the new girl around.”

“You’re Rogue?” the man asks her. Rogue’s surprised he knows of her.

“Yessir,” she says earning a pair of giggles from Kitty and Blink. She had meant it teasingly but by the set of his jaw, Rogue figures he’s not amused. “Kitty and Bl-Clarice were just being good samaritans s’all. Helped me pick out a gorgeous wardrobe.” Rogue easily slips into the flirtatious mode. A role she’d played so much on Mama’s missions that it came second nature. 

Captain Visor apparently didn’t appreciate it. She belatedly remembers she’s a student here. He looked older and might possibly be a teacher.

“See,” Kitty follows up, “Just being pals.”

“I’ll let it slide this time,” he says after making them hang for a moment. “But remember protocol for next time. If we had an emergency and needed you-”

“I know I know,” Kitty waves him off almost earning another chastisement.”Make sure another X-man knows where I am. Technically Colossus knew where I was going.”

The man has already turned to leave but Rogue feels a little slighted by his lack of interest in her playacting.

“Do I get a name?” she asks over Kitty and the man actually stops and turns his head. “You know mine, I’m at a bit of a disadvantage.”

“Scott Summers,” he says a bit gruffly then turns and starts walking again. “Welcome to the Xavier Institute.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted: 2/28/18  
> Edited:3/3/18


	7. Rogue Seven

“Has anybody checked that out yet?”

Kitty is standing in her door. The girl had a break between her morning classes. And Rogue was finishing getting dressed for her first official day.

She pulls down her shirt to cover up the bandage. Kitty had caught a glimpse of it at the mall when she’d barged in on Rogue while trying on a blouse in a dressing room.

“Somebody already did,” Rogue pulls on her gloves. “Hence the bandage.”

“Funny,” she says dryly. “Seriously. Jean could probably look at it. Make sure it’s not infected or anything.”

“I don’t think broken ribs get infected.”Kitty’s eyes widen.

“They’re broken?!” She asks rushing closer but a raise of Rogue’s hand causes the other girl to stop. “I thought they were bruised at worse!” 

“You’re an X-man,” she says with a shrug. “Shouldn’t you be used to this? Or is your team so untouchable that no one gets seriously injured?”

Kitty frowns.

“I haven’t been on any of the really dangerous missions. And It’s kind of hard for me to get caught, you know?” Rogue doesn’t because the girl hasn’t elaborated and Rogue hasn’t asked. “Oh right. You wouldn’t. I can walk through walls,” She says with a head nod. “Anything really.”

Rogue quirks an eyebrow.

“Like a ghost?” The laughter sort of explodes out of Kitty. 

“Kinda, I guess. I lose mass temporarily. Look.” Kitty turns and moves to close the door. With a quick intake of breath she steps through the closed door, her body and clothes walking through as if it was nothing but air. A moment later she reappears back inside Rogue’s room coming through the wall just to the right of the door. “Ta-da!”

“Impressive,” she states which is code for useful. It’d been Mystique’s word when vetting potential new recruits to the Brotherhood. She had to remember she wasn’t here to recruit. X-men ran in similar circles to the Avengers. And Mystique made them her enemies. Not that she was an innocent party in all of this.

Not one to be typically bothered by what strangers thought of her, she hated how her mind kept drifting back to Scott Summer’s indifference slash borderline rude behavior towards her. He was most definitely an X-man. Did the X-men know about the skirmish at the airfield?

That’s when a thought hit her.

Black Widow and Hawkeye knew her name. They’d heard Mystique say it many times. They knew her face. Her powers. They knew she was the reason for Captain Marvel not waking up.

The Professor was one thing, but if the X-men found out…

She looked around at her room in the mansion, as it started to feel less like a stay at the Ritz-Carlton and more like a prison cell.

“Hello?” Kitty is waving at her. She’d zoned out.

“Sorry,” she mumbles. “Just wonderin’ how you don’t just fall through the ground. And the Earth,” Kitty giggles before being able to answer. “Ready now.”

Kitty walks with her to her first class. She doesn’t need to but the girl probably thinks they’re well on their way to friends despite how private Rogue still remains around her. She wonders if she should start going by another name to hide her identity. 

They arrive soon enough to pull her out of her worries. The class is held outside. An open class but one that professor said she was required to attend. It was open in that anyone no matter their year or status could sit in on the class as they wished. Which was why Kitty decided to stay with her.

It was taught by a young handsome blonde man named Warren Worthington. The large white wings extending from his back made him seem otherworldly. When he smiled and the sun bounced off his skin, he looked like he could actually be an angel from Heaven.

The majority of the class was female and she wondered if half of the girls were listening to the sound of his voice rather than his words.

“Tell me the best compliment anyone has ever given you,” Warren says as he walks through the group gathered around, stepping over outstretched legs and smiling his enticing smile. “Come on? Someone’s told you that you’re smart or brave or pretty…” there are girlish giggles. “Anybody?”

“I’m the most beautiful girl in the world,” one brunette says. Warren nods.

“Wonderful. Who told you that?”

“Me.” The laughter was greater this time and Rogue found a grin slip onto her face.

“Ok that’s good,” Warren says as the laughter dies down. “We need to encourage ourselves.”

The class begins yelling out things people have said to them. How they’re kind and nice and sweet. She wonders what kind of terrible lives these girls lead where the best compliment they get is ‘kind’?

“How about our new student?” Warren asks eying her. Kitty nudges her with her elbow. Rogue doesn’t want to answer mainly because she can’t think of anything off hand. Not something monumental. Sure she’d been complimented on her job in the Brotherhood. 

“I’ve been told I’m pretty useful.” The looks she gets indicates people are taking it the wrong way. She inwardly cringes realizing how her’s isn’t much better than the girls she’d just been mentally criticising.

“Okay,” Warren says trying to maintain an encouraging tone. The other people are giving her odd slightly amused looks. “Utilitarian, I can rock with that.” He nods toward her then turns to others in the class. “But remember you are more than what others can use you as or for. And you’re more than just your abilities.”

His words rock her in a way. Hadn’t she said similar to Night? And hadn’t Pyro tried to undo such a belief in her?

The class goes on but Rogue more or less tunes it out. It’s mostly talking and having therapeutic discussions about mutant life. It all sounds a little too optimistic for her liking. Sure they’re talking about real issues but it’s so cookie cutter. If a human owned establishment tells you they don’t serve your kind how do you react? Oh, peaceably of course by voicing your opposition through the government. 

Sure that works in theory after a lot of heartache and pain and struggle for years. And what if you can’t just walk away? What if the government doesn’t care?

She didn’t get how these hypothetical situations with these bow wrapped fantasy solutions could help anything in the real world.

So Rogue sat back, enjoyed the sun, and let the voices of the class roll over her like a calm wave.

She was actually eager to go to her lesson with the Professor.

Of course she was surprised to not find him alone in his office. A red haired woman who looked to be in her late twenties was standing next to him. Lithe and intelligent looking with her hair pulled back in a bun.

“Rogue,” the professor greets her pleasantly ending his conversation with the red head. “This is Dr. Jean Grey. She is a mutant and one of my earliest students.” His tone belies how much he cares for the woman. “Before proceeding with our lesson today I thought it best for you to complete a physical examination.”

“Why?” She’s only being contrary because he hadn’t brought it up before. She wonders if Kitty had tipped him off, the tattler. “I feel fine.”

“I’m sure that you do,” Jean Grey says stoutly stepping forward. “But we would all feel more comfortable having you examined by a doctor prior to engaging in any physical stresses.”

Rogue only agrees because her eyes seem kind and wise beyond her years. Whether or not they’re truthful, Rogue will determine in time.

Being ushered into the basement of the mansion where it goes from rustic feel to futuristic with smooth steel walls and fancy locks, assures Rogue she slacked in her previous scoping out of the grounds. It felt like Stark Tech but she was quick to shake that thought away. She follows behind Jean, the click of the older woman’s heels echoing through the halls. 

It’s too silent and for a brief moment, panic seizes her thinking she’s not going to be examined but be experimented on.

“Here we are,” Jean says ushering her into a room filled with more gadgets that fortunately look medicinal in nature. She sits on one of the three gurneys in the center of the room.

Jean is mostly silent in her examination which Rogue isn’t sure if she’s grateful for. Outside of relaying that her vitals are good or not, Jean is distantly professional.

“What’s your power?” She asks out of boredom, hoping the woman will not reciprocate. Jean glances up from where she’s checking Rogue’s reflexes.

“I’m telepathic and telekinetic.”

“Like the professor,” Rogue mutters. And she instantly wants to get out of the woman’s presence.

“Sort of,” Jean responds with a smirk. “Not nearly as strong though.”

“But you can read minds?” At this Jean does rise up to her level again.

“I can. But I don’t have the level of control to ignore a mind entirely. With the same token I can’t hear as much as he can. Surface thoughts mostly.”

It’s meant to be reassuring but Rogue is tensing up again as if in flight.

“Did he tell you ‘bout me?”

“He told me your name. And that you have the ability to absorb other’s gifts through touch.” She glances down at Rogue’s gloves. “Also that you’ve been injured recently and he wanted my insight as to whether you were truly fit for your lessons.”

Rogue settles a bit. Professor was too paternal for his own good.

“You have four bruised ribs,” she says later after completing the examination. “My guess is that they were broken but have healed at an astounding rate. Still,” she pauses. “I’m not certain it would be best to attempt any truly physical activity yet.”

“I’ve worked on worse,” Rogue protests. 

“If that’s true, you shouldn’t have.” Jean’s chastisement has no real bite to it. Mostly concern and slight disapproval. “What happened to cause that anyway?”

At this Rogue does completely tense up again. Jean doesn’t miss it. She drops her arms to her side.

“Nothing leaves this room,” Jean explains. “Unless you’re a danger to yourself. It helps me to place any other hidden injuries if I know the situation a bit more.”

“I got in a fight,” is as vague as she can be. “Punched around a lot.”

“And the cuts on your back?”

“Smashed through a window.” Jean’s expression doesn’t change. “Well, there was a fire so it was either through the window or burn to death.”

“Sounds like you’ve had a rough week.” The slight smirk on her face is overshadowed by the mild concern in her voice. “I’ll allow light practice with the professor. _Very_ light. And you’ll report to me in a week or so for a follow-up”

After her bandages receive an upgrade, Jean nearly forgetting to wear gloves before applying them, she’s free to return but her time allocated with the professor is long past. Instead she seeks out food and heads to her room. She sends a few messages to Night and spends the rest of the day on the internet or watching television.

* * *

To make up for the fact that Rogue didn’t have a real lesson with the professor, he invites her to a group class. 

It’s a mixed group of seven students. All look young, no older than 15 she’d guess. She notices Jean is present as well as a black woman with white hair.The woman was tall, a few inches taller than Jean, her dark brown skin was flawless. She was painfully gorgeous, strong, and intimidating.

“Hello, Rogue,” she says in a rich accent that eases the intimidation a bit. “I have heard so much about you, it is a pleasure to finally meet you.”

Rogue steps forward realizing who she must be.

“You’re Storm.” She says it matter of factly. The X-men weren’t nearly as popular nor public as the Avengers. But certain members had a made a name for themselves albeit unknowingly. A woman that could literally make her namesake tended to unnerve the crime crowd. Rogue had seen one of her majestic storms during a retreat and it was awe inspiring. And terrifying.

The woman gives a slight nod of her head.

“You may call me Ororo.” she holds out a hand to shake. Rogue places her gloved one in it. 

“Ms. Monroe is a teacher here as well as one of my former students.” The tone is not unlike the one he had when introducing Jean Grey. Rogue wonders if the professor unknowingly plays favorites amongst his pupils. These two women he clearly holds in high esteem. She thought that maybe the Professor could be trusted still, if he hadn’t revealed her identity to his X-men. “She as well as Jean are here to assist in flight practice.”

Rogue had thought Jean was here to make sure she didn’t re-break her ribs.

The rest of the class Rogue finds out soon enough all have powers that yield them the ability to fly or hover. While no two powers are the same, the general understanding of physics and maintaining oneself in the air has some shared attributes.

The group quickly splits into two, Storm taking the students who can simulate flight by affecting the world around them, and Jean taking those whose ingrained power is flight. Storm can manipulate the winds to carry her. Jean can lift herself mentally.

The other 4 students in her group are in varying stages, some clearly beginners. Some who have attempted before but can only really hold themselves for a few seconds.

Rogue’s never flown before. Never got close enough to another mutant who could. And while they had to tap into their powers, she had to tap into Captain Marvel’s. She hadn’t tried it, worried about the effects of Carol Danvers on her mind. 

When the others are situated practicing basic hovering Jean comes toward her.

“Do you know how to find your power of flight?”

A flash of free falling out of the plane comes up and she has a brief moment of terror as she had then. Jean steps back with a hand to her forehead.

“What hap-”

“Nothing, it’s fine,” Jean says quickly shaking her head a bit. “You have such fear. I can try to find it with you, if you’ll allow me.”

Rogue tenses and glances toward the professor. Shouldn’t she be doing this with him? She’d let him in but she wasn’t about to open her mind and secrets up to every telepath willingly; Favorite student or not.

“Let me try first,” she argues. Honestly she doesn’t know what to look for. She never had control of a person’s powers long enough to really dissect them. And most of the time she had a cheat sheet from the person’s own surface memories on how to use their powers.

Captain Marvel apparently was not going to let cracking her abilities code be easy.

She closes her eyes and breathes in deep assuming the same stance the other students had with her palms facing toward the ground and her feet spread out just so.

Trying to find Marvel’s memories on flight keeps drugding up Carol’s memories of Mar-Vell taking her flying. She’d been acutely aware of his blue skin flush against hers. Back when she was just Carol, agent of S.W.O.R.D, and he had been the alien in disguise she was starting to forgive for lying to her.

The memory came with pleasant feelings and a touch of sorrow but it didn’t help her figure out how to fly.

The next one that comes up is of Captain Marvel- still ‘Ms. Marvel’, the woman’s memory supplied- flying fast to catch Iron Man. His suit was dead having been momentarily demobilized by an enemy blast.

_“I got ya, big guy,”_ she had said and her heart seems to stutter a bit from worry fading into relief at having caught Tony.

But there’d been something there. Something she felt intrinsically from the flight. Something that made itself known briefly when she’d caught the suit and the added weight in her hands had illuminated the one pressing against her back as well.

Another memory, this time she’s flying alongside Falcon and Vision. It’s a race. Vision isn’t using his all but Sam is and he’s laughing at her. A tinkling sound comes out and she’s laughing as well. She _pushes_ -

“There,” Jean says suddenly and Rogue looks up to see her eyes closed. “You almost had it.”

Rogue wants to bite back that she can do it alone but she doesn’t because she thought the same. So close that she didn’t have time to fear what Jean Grey might have seen in her head. That ever present weight on her back was there again.

She turns her palms facing upward. Maybe she shouldn’t be pressing from the ground but pushing away something.

_“Gravity,”_ it’s Mar-Vell’s voice again but he’s in his human disguise. _“Is just another force to overcome.”_

_“It’s not a fight, Captain,”_ she hears in her mind’s memory. _“We can’t create zero gravity inside a gravitational pull. Only simulate it.”_

_“I beg to differ, Ms. Danvers,”_ his voice sounds too smooth and wise to be an accurate rendition. _“We fight against gravity to stand tall every day. If not we would lie on our backs everyday and wait for it to crush us into oblivion.”_

She raises her hands above her head. Gravity. She has to push gravity? No they likened it to a fight. She’d have to _fight_ gravity?

She tries to grasp at it but it just feels like the wind. Gravity was a pull right? She had to escape the pull somehow. 

Fight off the pull.

She wonders if Carol always found herself in two battles. Her enemies and gravity. It wears her out just thinking about it.

She stretches her hands out as far as they can above her head but nothing happens. She can’t fight air. 

“I ain’t doin’ it right,” she grumbles.

“You’re close, I can feel it,” Jean encourages again. It’s weird and frustrating, how can Jean feel something that she herself can’t. She glances over to the professor again only to find him gone. Jean’s eyes open then and look at her confused. “Why did you stop?”

Only then did she realize she’d lowered her hands and pulled out of the stream of Captain Marvel’s memories. Jean however only looks mildly disappointed. Which she has no right to.

“You’re the mind reader,” she bites back startling the red head. “You should know.”

Of course she doesn’t give it much thought, ignoring calls of her name as she storms away from the class. She didn’t want people in her mind. She didn’t even want him in her mind but if she had to allow one she only wanted him. And he couldn’t even have the decency to stay and observe her.

Later she’ll probably realize she was just being hotheaded. But currently she feels completely in the right when she pushes Piotr’s hand out of the way at his half attempt to stop her and barges into the professor’s office door.

Unfortunately he’s not alone.

“Excuse us,” Scott Summer says sternly bent over the professor’s desk, “This is a private meeting-” He’s not amused nor appreciative of her appearance.

“Rogue,” the professor says lifting a hand to stop Scott from continuing. “Is there something I can help you with?”

“I thought you were supposed to be trainin’ me,” she says as Scott crosses his arms. “Instead you just keep throwin’ me off onto _Jean Grey_.” She sneers the name which only causes Scott to tense in more anger probably on his teammate’s behalf. “My brain’s not some museum for every two bit mind reader to go swimming around in-”

“Jean is not some-!”

“I apologize,” Professor says cutting Scott off again. “Another matter came up. Our future lessons will be more private in nature however for this first lesson I thought it best if someone more adept at flying aide you. Jean is a remarkable woman and I’m sure you’ll grow to like her in time.”

“It’s not about her,” Rogue says belatedly not wanting to sound vengeful towards the woman who’d dressed her wounds. “I just don’t like people in my head. Now I got two more!”

“I understand.” She doesn’t think he does. “However the reality of the situation is that I alone will not be able to give you all of the attention you need to further your skills.”

It’s reasonable and he knows it. She however is hinging on the desperation of keeping her thoughts her own.

“Well, why can’t I work with someone who won’t read my mind?”

“If you only ask it of Jean, as you did myself-”

“She said she wasn’t as good as you.” The professor silently sighs if the slight drooping of his shoulders is evidence enough. “I don’t wanna be any extra trouble, professor, I just don’t feel right ‘bout having strange people running in my head more than they have to.”

“I promise you, that the next few lessons will be just you and myself. We can slowly introduce Jean to these lessons so that she can help you when I am otherwise occupied.” It’s clear the man is used to having to placate people. He must have the patience of a saint, Rogue decides.

“Thank you,” she says only then looking at Scott again who’s still standing with his arms crossed. His anger and disgust with her is prominent even with his shielded eyes. “Sorry about interruptin’.”

“You’re very welcome,” the professor says.

“If that’s all,” Scott cuts in, his dismissal clear. Rogue wants to bite at him figuratively and literally but she just half rolls her eyes before walking out. 

Later she feels a bit guilty about barging into the professor’s office like an out of control child. Of course the man was busy. He had the school and who knows how many appearances with the government. And the X-men. He wouldn’t always have time to give her one on one lessons and the fact that he was in spite of her allegiances should have made her grateful.

“Gotta say,” Kitty says when they’re eating dinner together that evening. “Not many people are brave enough to stand up to Summers.” 

“Yeah, well I have a natural aversion to self entitled jerks so…”

“He’s alright,” she says with a smile on her face. “He just suffers from Jock-Boy Scout Duplicity Syndrome.” Clarice giggles into her hand uncontrollably at that. “And don’t worry about professor. He’s way more understanding than you think.”

“We’re going into town this weekend,” Clarice says once she’s able to she calms down. “Will you be coming with?”

Rogue wants to say yes because she wants to get out of the school for a while but she remembers she’s not supposed to be making friends. She can’t risk it. So she needs to have some distance between them no matter how nice they seem. Not to mention she’s pretty sure Kitty is reporting back on her to the Professor.

“Naw,” she says getting up to discard her trash. “Maybe next time,” she adds seeing how both of their happy expressions drop.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted: 3/3/2018


	8. Rogue Eight

Tapping into Captain Marvel’s strength is much harder the second time around. Not nearly as hard as flying but harder than when she’d panicked trying to break a hole to escape the plummeting plane. Feeling Professor rummage through deeper sets of her mind, going deep enough to detect Carol’s memories had been a strange sensation. Like someone thinking for you, bringing up disjointed memories and pulling them out.

“The nature of her powers are Kree based,” he says keeping his eyes closed as he continues sifting through memories. “Alien enough that they don’t work quite the same as human genetic abilities. But it would seem that Carol’s accident caused her mind to hybridize enough that she barely thinks about them.”

“What are you saying?”

At this he finally opens his eyes blinking a bit as if to clear them of the haze of the world of her mind.

“Using the Kree powers involves some sort of natural instinct. One that your powers did not absorb. Carol, being a hybrid of human and Kree did not need to at a basic level think of how to use her powers. They simply occurred naturally. Biologically.”

“No disrespectin’ her but I nearly drained her.”

“Yes, her powers, her life force, her memories but not her body.”

“But I used her strength before.”

“I’m not saying that you can’t use her powers. I’m saying that it’s going to be more difficult for you to understand their nature than it was for her. Harder to control them.”

Rogue sits back at that. The only upside to nearly killing Carol Danvers was being able to use her powers long term. By the time Rogue figures out how to use them she could very well have lost them. 

“Well, what about _my_ powers?”

Professor grins at that.

“Your powers, Rogue, are very intriguing.” He turns to wheel from around his desk and settle. “They are similar to what we discussed before. However I’ve discerned the similarities between your absorbing young Cody,” her shoulders tense, “And Captain Marvel.”

“It’s permanent aint it?” She’d feared this. Cody dwindled but was never truly gone.

“They are all permanent.” She blinks, confused. “Even if the potency of the others powers diminish, every person you touch no matter how short a time, permanently alter your psyche. You may not directly feel or hear their memories as you do with Cody and Carol but they’re all still embedded in your brain’s makeup.”

“What am I?” she asks alarmed standing to her feet. “Some sort of mutant frankenstein monster?”

“You’re still you. But you’re also...others.”

She doesn’t like it. She thinks about those mutants they’d kept in the cages. She’d been... well not fine with it but she’d accepted it as part of the job. She’d keep coming to them taking their powers piece by piece as they sat half lucid in their prisons. After a time it’d tormented her. Mystique had been angry when she’d released them.

But Rogue had only felt relief. Like she had escaped with them.

“Interesting,” Professor says and Rogue realizes he’d seen the flash of memories. “Those mutants... you carried their desire to be free. And acted upon it.”

It was supposed to make her feel better by his tone but it’d only sank something in her.

“How much of me is still me?” Professor tilts his head. “I mean, I got all these different mutants running around in my mind like you say. How do I know what’s me and what’s somebody else?”

“Quite honestly Rogue I don’t think you’ll ever know. With Carol it’s easy. Her memory is largely intact as her own but with the mutants you touch briefly you may only acquire an odd quirk here or there. We are all shaped and molded by society and people we meet, yours is more directly.”

Rogue can’t quite fathom the idea that who she is, is the makeup of everyone she’s ever absorbed from. She’s taken from Mystique, from Night, Pyro, Blob, the mutants in the cells and countless others she never expected to see again.

What if she used her powers too much and she got erased? She could just turn into some hodge podge of mutant soup!

“Can I keep ‘em out?” she asks suddenly. “I mean there’s gotta be a way to control it, right?”She feels almost desperate as the thought takes hold in her mind. “Like could I take a person’s powers without takin’ the rest of them?”

“I cannot say. We can continue to study your abilities and figure out if they can be concentrated to take only powers but at this point we can only hope.”

Rogue has an inkling that ‘continue to study her powers’ means he’s going to be taking up frequent residence in her brain.

“Excuse me,” comes a heavily accented voice when she nearly barrels into someone outside the professor’s door after her lesson. It takes her a moment to realize it’s Piotr. He’s not guarding the door today but entering it.

“Hey,” she calls when he slides past her. He turns back and she realizes just how large the man before her is. “Sorry about the other day,” She never really spoke to him. He’s spoken to Kitty and on occasion Clarice but they haven’t had any real direct interaction. “I was a little heated so I kinda...”

Piotr regards her for a moment. As if he’s forgotten.

“It is of no problem,” he says and Rogue tries not to smile. “You are very strong?”

Rogue realizes the guy probably didn’t have people flinging his arm out of the way on the regular.

“Yeah,” she answers rubbing her elbow. “Kinda.” Piotr nods. “Not really in control of it yet so, sorry if I hurt ya.”

Piotr grins.

“No harm came to me. I was simply surprised.”

“Not much competition for you around here I gather?” He shakes his head. “When I get a better handle on this we’ll have to test our limits against each other.”

“I would most enjoy that. Perhaps the professor will allow us to use the Danger Room when that time comes.”

“Danger room?” she asks intrigued.

“It is a training room of simulations. Mostly only used for the X-men trainings-”

“You’re an X-man?” She asks moving towards him again. “What’s your codename if you don’t mind me asking?”

He puffs his chest up a bit.

“I am called Colossus.” There’s a pride in his voice. 

“Nice,” she encourages giving him a once over. “Appropriate.” 

“It was nice speaking to you, Rogue. I must get to class but I hope to converse again.”

“Sure thing, big guy.” She waves as she turns to leave.

Her dreams that night are bothersome. She should have known that having the professor in her brain would drudge up Carol Danvers’ memories. But not just hers, Cody’s as well. 

Warped memories of Cody looking at her in awe, she practically glowed in his thoughts. But then she would morph and in her place would be Mar-Vell. For a brief second she’d see someone who looked oddly like Tony Stark but then he would disappear and she’d be battling some enemy in the skies and taking orders from Captain America in her ear.

When she’d get punched, she’d land back in her own home. She kisses Cody, feels his pain but when she pulls away it’s not Cody seizing on her bed, it’s-

“Night!” she gasps awake. Her clock tells her it’s a little past four in the morning. She’s tired but her heart’s beating too fast for her to immediately go back to sleep. She realizes she’s drenched in sweat as if she’d been literally fighting in her sleep.

Covers already in disarray she seeks out the kitchen. Hoping to find sleep again soon, she heats up a cup of milk. The cold linoleum under her feet and stainless steel of the island she sits at does nothing but wake her body up more. She hopes the milk will do its job. Strangely enough she hears people walking and voices as they come in from the basement. She knows its some God forsaken hour and in a school full of under age kids she doesn’t expect much activity. She tenses up preparing for a fight in case of intruders.

“Rogue?” she hears and sees that the group is passing by the kitchen but Kitty has stopped. She’s suited up in some sort of leather uniform. Kitty waves someone off before entering the kitchen. “What are you doing up?”

Rogue only then realizes she must look a wreck if the way Kitty keeps looking her up and down is any indication.

“Bad night,” she gives not wanting to admit to her swarm of memories and dreams. Kitty didn’t really know much about her powers yet anyway. “I’m fine.”

“Ok.” Kitty’s unconvinced. She must look worse than she thought. Or the other girl is suspicious that she’s up to no good.

“You uh…” she points at the other girl’s getup. “X-manning?” Kitty chuckles.

“Yeah.” She pauses a little uncomfortable. “Well let me know if you need anything. I gotta go de-brief with the team right now-”

“Yeah go,” she urges with a wave of her hand. “Thanks.” Kitty scampers out of the kitchen. She wonders if the girl is naturally nice or if the professor has given Rogue to her as an assignment. Or maybe it’s both. Rogue doesn’t know and doesn’t care to dwell on it this early in the morning.

She finishes drinking her milk quickly and escapes back to her room once the commotion in the hall settles. When she finds sleep again, her mind doesn’t really calm but it doesn’t leave her gasping awake again.  
< hr/>

“Excuse us for a moment, class,” Ororo announces as she and Jean Grey are pulled out of the class by a distressed Scott Summers. Rogue’s been at the school over a month and has slowly allowed Jean to become more familiar with her mind. After assuring her that she would hold the same faith and secrets as the professor, Rogue finds begrudgingly she does like Jean.

She has figured out how to bring out Captain Marvel’s strength occasionally on command but she’s no closer to flying than she was the first day. Jean always told her she was very close and then some mental door would slam shut just before she could bring it forth to fruition. Combined with the professor’s understanding of Captain Marvel’s Kree powers, they likened it to her needing the mental capacity to control her own heartbeat.

With the break given to them Rogue settles onto the ground. The class now met outside since many of the students in the class had advanced further than simple hovering.

“You’re a coward if you can’t,” she hears one of the students say in a pitched voice. It’s a little blonde girl probably no older than 14. “You said you could, you liar!”

There are a few heckles and she realizes a small group of the younger students have gathered around a boy. The boy she realizes was one she’d seen her first day. He has brown hair but now looking at him in sunlight she can see streaks of pink mixed in. He’d been hovering a ball with his hands in a common room.

“I can!” he protests weakly, pushing his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose but the group doesn’t seem to believe him. Rogue lies down on her back not wanting to deal with drama of a few brats.

Of course that is until a few minutes later when she catches sight in her periphery the same boy high up in the air. She sits up quickly. He’s high above the trees and he’s focusing on a spot on the ground below him amidst the students. His hands and fingers working as if they were threading some invisible tapestry, same as they did when she’d seen him hovering the ball just before another kid swiped his hand between his hands and the ball causing the ball to drop.

“Yeah okay,” she hears a kid yell up. “Come down! You’re going to get in trouble with Ms. Monroe!” She sounds nervous. Rogue finds herself standing up. The kid’s going too high. None of them had gone higher than maybe five or six feet off the ground. He was almost two stories up.

“I ca-” the boy yells something but seems to almost wobble in the air. “I can’t!”

Rogue feels a zing of panic echo through her brain. The kid was going to hurt himself or worse. Where were Jean and Storm?

“Get down!” Some more of the kids yell and Rogue finds herself yelling it as well foolishly. Driven by insanity of not knowing what to do and feeling too anxious to look away. But the boy keeps going higher. 

She sees it of all things, a frisbee flies over their way. Like watching a train wreck in slow motion, it slices through the air between the boy and the ground and the he loses the connection. She sees the panic as his hands shoot out and he screams.

She doesn’t think. She just feels Carol’s strength and the prickly sensation of that pressure on her back and when she shoots her fists up into the air she can feel herself punching through the bonds which tie her to the earth. The boy gets closer to her and she grabs him.

“I got ya,” she says cradling him carefully. He curls into her and she’s careful to make sure his head doesn’t make contact with her exposed neck. She can feel herself start to breathe deeply again. Only then looking down and realizing she was actually floating in the sky. She’s fearful she might lose it and start to plummet as the boy had but she doesn’t, just slightly shifting in the direction of the wind. The weight at her back ever present yet not as binding as it was before. The boy in her arms only grasps her harder. “I got ya,” she repeats.

It’s timely because another student returns to the group with Storm and Jean in tow. She sees the momentary panic in both their eyes but Storm takes to calming the class while Jean joins them in the air.

“Are you both alright?” Rogue can only nod even though she feels the boy shake his head against her. “Are you able to descend?”

“I aint sure how I got up here to be honest.” It’s only partially true. She can still feel the weight on her, pushing and pulling her down to the earth but she’s fighting against it to stay afloat. Pushing back against it.

Jean nods before placing fingers on her own forehead.

“I’m going to lower you both safely alright?” Before Rogue can nod she feels a swarm of power come over and envelope her as yet another force drags her towards the ground slowly.She allows it but she is still partially pushing against it in fear that she might drop them both.

When they reach the ground with Jean, the older woman breathes deeply as if nearly exhausted. Rogue releases the boy who runs straight into Ororo’s embrace then turns to an exhausted looking Jean.

“You alright?” She asks as the older woman places a hand to cradle her forehead.

“Telekinesis wipes me,” she says breathily. “A lot more than telepathy. You were fighting against it a bit.”

“Sorry,” is all she can say. “And thanks.”

“I should be thanking you,” she says instead. “Who knows what could have happened if you hadn’t…” she stops. “Thank you. You were a real hero today.”

Hero.

The word hits her oddly. It doesn’t fit her. She reacts how she expects a dog would if one day it was told it was cat. It makes her feel ill and she wants to reject it.

She wasn’t a hero. She was a criminal. A mutant who only cared about the family in her world. Just because she aint want to deal with the demons of watching a little boy die in front of her didn’t make her a hero. It just made her sensible.

When she looks back she sees Ororo kneeling with her hands on the boy’s shoulders and speaking to him. She can’t hear them but the concern in Storm’s expression and the glassy look in the boy’s eyes is evidence enough of what’s being said.

The pair end the class early. Rogue gets a few appraising looks, waves, and pats from the other students as they leave. She tries not to shrink from their touches.

She doesn’t anticipate how quickly the news spreads though.

* * *

“So I heard you saved someone’s life today,” Kitty is quick to enter Rogue’s room before she can lock herself inside. She’s as sneaky as her namesake. “X-men in training.”

“No,” she replies quickly causing the girl to chuckle. “Glad to know the gossip mill is lightning fast.” Kitty only shrugs. “Didn’t think people knew how to bully in a place like this.”

At this Kitty walks closer with her arms crossed.

“Bullying?” She tilts her head. “I heard the kid was being a stupid show-off.”

“I mean yeah it was stupid but he wouldn’t have tried it if those girls hadn’t teased and challenged him.” 

“What girls?” Rogue shrugs. “Did you tell Ms. Monroe?” Rogue shakes her head.

“No. Figured the kid would have told her.”

“He took the blame himself. He’s facing disciplinary action.” Rogue knows it should affect her more than it did. But the boy was stupid if he wasn’t going to tell the truth about the situation. “Are you going to tell?”

“Why should I? Kid is obviously scared about ratting out those girls. Why get him into more fights?”

“Because we don’t tolerate bullying here. The Xavier Institute is a safe haven,” Kitty goes on sounding like a talking pamphlet. Rogue holds back the urge to roll her eyes. “We get bullied and beat and killed by humans out in the regular world, we don’t need it spreading in here amongst our own kind.” Rogue shows no reaction. “ _Rogue!_ ”

“Fine, if Jean asks I’ll let her know, alright?” Kitty isn’t convinced. And Rogue doesn’t say a word about it for the next week. Kitty somehow seems to realize this because she’s cold towards Rogue. Not that Rogue is particularly bothered by it because she needed to put some distance between them anyways but she can’t shake that judgemental look she receives from the girl either. As if _she_ was the one who dared the boy to fly as high as he could. 

She had saved his freakin’ life thank you very much.

“Hi, Rogue?” She looks up. She’s sitting in the shade of a tree between lessons one day. The boy is standing before her. “Hi,” he repeats nervously. “I just wanted to say thanks for um, for catching me and stuff.”

“No problem, kiddo.”He looks like he wants to say something else but he just sort of shuffles on his feet before her in silence. “Was there anything else?”

“N-No,” he stutters quickly. “Just... that was all.”She raises an eyebrow when he starts to blush. “And I think you’re pretty cool.”

At that he turns and runs off waving. He seemed genuine not like he was put up to another dare. She finds herself raising a hand slightly to wave back.

It reminded her of the first time she’d met Night. He was still Mystique’s little teleporting boy then. And he’d heard about her powers before knowing her. She was intimidating to him: a mutant that could steal other mutants powers. She was like the mutant boogie man. He’d stuttered his greeting just as that boy had and Rogue had been a kinder soul; a pained one but kind and it’d endeared Nightcrawler to her.

For some reason that similarity struck a chord in her. Or maybe it was Carol being kindhearted and it seeped into Rogue. In any case she was standing in Ororo’s classroom once the woman’s students were dismissed.

“Look, this isn’t really any of my business but kids are stupid.” It’s probably not the best introduction. “The kid didn’t just fly. He was dared to do it. Called a coward and everything. I don’t know the whole situation that’s just what I heard.”

Storm is caught off guard at first before her expression settles into a serious one.

“Thank you for informing me, Rogue. Do you know which students antagonized this?”

“I don’t know the girls’ names. “Which also sounds bad since they’d been in classes together a whole month. “The blonde and the brunette in your group. Joined at the hip.”

“Ah,” she says understanding which pair immediately. “Katy and Lita. I will speak with them.” Rogue nods turning to go. “His name is Quentin Quire.”

“Huh?”

“The young man you saved.” Rogue nods. She hadn’t bothered to ask the boy- Quentin- his name. “He has had some trouble making friends.”

“Can’t really help him on that front.” Rogue says with a smile. The one Storm returns seems sneaky but Rogue plays ignorant. “I’m gonna go now.” She thumbs out the door and Storm lets her leave with a nod, that smile never leaving the woman’s face.

Rogue plays ignorant again two days later when Kitty is back to badgering her to leave her room and eat lunch with her posse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted: 3/10/18


End file.
